Friendly Competition
by madmanmay
Summary: AU-After the events of the Doom Saga, Yugi and the gang are looking forward to a friendly tournament where they don't have to risk their souls or worry about saving the world. Ch 2 Yugi vs CED EoTE contains duels and JoeyMai. please RR
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I, the author of this fan fiction do not own any of the characters or cards from the anime or TV show. This is purely for the enjoyment of myself and any who decide they want to read it.

This is an AU fic set a little after the Pharaoh and Kaiba take down Dartz. Oh, I'm not sure how they spell Yugi's last name in the dubbed version, just bear with me with Moto, I'll only be using it when referring to Yugi's grandfather and in duel intros. Thanks for your patience. Also, I'm going to be making a few additions to the decks of the main characters nothing major just adding some flavor. This fic will contain several duels using a variety of deck types, some of which have not been used on the show yet. Yet meaning the dubbed version aired in the us on the WB. Right now they're up to the last episode of the Joey Mai duel.

After the trying events of the doom saga, Yugi, the pharaoh, Joey, and their friends are hoping to enjoy a Duel Monsters tournament without having to risk their souls or bear the responsibility of saving the world from ancient evils.

Friendly Competition: A New Rival. Joey Vs Heaven's Sanctuary 

"Hey Mr. Moto, long time no see!" a young man wearing a gray denim jacket over a white shirt with black jeans called out as he entered the Game Shop.

Grandpa Moto looked up from behind his display with a warm smile on his face, "Joey my boy! How have you been lately?"

Joey Wheeler flashed a grin and lifted a thumb into the air as he came closer, "You know me Mr. Moto, nuthin can keep Joey Wheeler down for long!"

Mr. Moto laughed gently, "Good to hear. I'm surprised you came by yourself. Where's Tristan and Tea?"

"Der off doin me and Yug a big favor, keeping a place in line at registration. You know dat big tournament is starting up today. In fact I came by to get dat grandson a yours, at dis rate we're gonna be late!" Joey crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the display case.

"Ah yes, now I remember Yugi mentioned something about a tournament a few weeks ago." Mr. Moto started scratching his beard, "I'm sure he'll be ready in a moment, most likely he's putting the finishing touches on his deck." A sly smile spread across Mr. Moto's face as he anticipated Joey's reaction, "I got a few new cards that he was really interested in."

Joey's eyes widened slightly at the mention of new cards, and he stiffened noticeably, "What? You guys got new cards in and didn't bother ta tell me!"

Mr. Moto laughed out loud at Joey's indignant expression, "Relax Joey, we didn't forget about you! In fact I already put a few cards aside that I thought you'd be interested in."

Joey's expression eased and his easy grin quickly returned, "You're da best Mr. Moto, pure and simple. Always lookin out for us. So don't keep me in suspense, show me what ya got." Joey was eagerly rubbing his hands together, as Mr. Moto was already spreading some cards out in front of him.

"I really think you'll like this one." Mr. Moto pointed to a monster card with the picture of a kneeling female warrior clad in armor, armed with both a sword and shield.

"Penumbral Soldier Lady eh?" Joey struggled a little to get the name of the card out of his lips, "I dunno Mr. Moto, maybe I should stay away from cards dat I can't hardly pronounce."

They both shared a small laugh, and a sweat drop appeared on the back of Joey's head. "Maybe you're right Joey, but when I saw the card I got a feeling that it could help you out."

"Oh yeah? Well you've never steered me wrong before Mr. Moto, so whats da deal with dis card?" Joey picked it up off the table and examined it carefully.

"Well, as you can see it has a decent number of attack points for a level six monster, but its special ability makes it especially effective against light monsters."

Joey grinned down at the card, _"Well, don't know how often I'll be running into a duelist who uses light monsters, but Mr. Moto was nice enough to put it aside for me, I should take it." _"Thanks Mr. Moto, I'm sure dis will be a big help. Ya got anything else?"

Joey and Mr. Moto were still examining cards when Yugi appeared wearing his school uniform, with the Millennium puzzle secure around his neck, "Oh hey Joey! Sorry I'm late, I was just getting my deck ready. We should get going, don't want to miss the start of the tournament."

"No worries bud, Tea and Tristan are holding spots in line at registration, but we should be on our way. Thanks again for da cards Mr. Moto!" Joey smiled as he shook Mr. Moto's hand.

"Anytime Joey, you boys have a good time now, and be sure to win!" Mr. Moto's voice was rising as Joey and Yugi quickly made their way to the door.

"You know it Mr. Moto, Later!" Joey called back over his shoulder with a wave.

"Bye grandpa, see you later!" Yugi added as he glanced down at his watch, but his expression quickly soured, "Oh no, there's no way we'll be able to get there in time."

"No worries Yug, don't ya know Joey Wheeler's on da case? I managed ta secure us some wheels…" Joey's voice trailed off and the color quickly drained from his face as a horrified expression settled in. _"Oh no. I'm dead."_

"Joey? Whats the matter?" Yugi asked as the door to the game shop closed behind them.

"Joseph Wheeler! Just how much longer did you expect me to wait out here for you? I'm not a cab driver you dork!" A sweat drop quickly appeared on both Joey and Yugi as an obviously annoyed Mai Valentine vaulted over the side of her convertible and stalked towards Joey with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"_Wow, Mai sure seems mad."_ Yugi remarked as she approached.

Yugi heard a deep voice in his head chuckling lightly, _"I don't think we have to worry. She won't inflict any permanent damage."_ The voice of the pharaoh echoed slightly in Yugi's mind.

The sweat drop on Joey's face only seemed to grow larger as Mai got closer, he started waving his hands in front of him as he tried to explain himself. "I'm so sorry Mai, I totally forgot dat you were waitin for us, Mr. Moto was showing me some new cards and I guess I got distra…." Joey's explanation was roughly cut off as Mai secured him in a headlock and started rubbing her knuckles up and down his scalp.

Yugi was chuckling nervously at the scene and the pharaoh was openly laughing as Joey started to thrash and yelp in pain.

"You got distracted? I was nice enough to offer you a ride to the tournament and you completely forget about me when someone flashes some new cards in front of your face!" She finally released Joey with an indignant huff and began to march back to her car. "See if I ever do you a favor again, you two can just walk for all I care."

Both Joey and Yugi's eyes bugged, and Yugi quickly nudged Joey in the ribs with his elbow and hissed, "Apologize!"

"C'mon Mai, please don't be upset. I said I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean nuthin by it." Joey pleaded.

A small spark of hope was ignited in Joey as Mai stopped and turned back to him with a small smile on her face, after considering for a moment she answered, "Well, I guess your absentmindedness is nothing new, so maybe I overreacted a little bit."

Joey's face fell a little at the insult but a small smile was still on his face, "Ya forgive me den?" He asked hopefully.

Mai laughed lightly and she reached out and gave Joey a playful nudge to the arm, "Not by a long shot." She said sweetly.

Joey looked at her nervously and braced himself as if preparing to defend himself from another assault, "Huh?" his voice was quaking slightly. _"I don't like dat look she's got on her face!"_

"I'll still take you and Yugi to the tournament, but after it's over you owe me big." She began counting off her fingers, "A trip to the mall, the stylist, a nice dinner at an obscenely expensive restaurant,". As Mai continued her list Joey cringed more and more as he attempted to add the costs in his mind, and all the while Yugi couldn't help but laugh out loud at the expression on Joey's face.

Mai finally stopped as he she got a good look at Joey's face and joined Yugi in a fit of laughter. "Relax Joey, I'm not going to put you into debt to buy back my good graces."

Joey's eye twitched even as he let out a sigh of relief. He grinned at Mai, "You are an evil woman sometimes, you know dat Mai?"

Mai stiffened slightly at Joey's words and painful memories quickly flashed in her mind, and the image of Joey's unconscious body in her arms made her heart clench tightly in her chest.

Both Yugi and Joey noticed the change in her expression. "Look dat didn't sound da way I meant it ta Mai." Joey started to explain himself.

"No no, it's all right. I know you didn't mean anything by it. It's just…" She trailed off and lowered her gaze to the ground.

"Hey Mai," Joey began softly, "I thought we agreed that you weren't going to beat yourself up anymore about dat whole mess. You know how I feel about what happened." Joey reached out and caught her hand in his and squeezed gently.

Mai managed a small smile, "I know Joey, and it means so much to me that you still want to be my friend after what I did." She looked away from him again and closed her eyes.

"Enough Mai." Joey said gently, "Its all behind us now. Now c'mon I got a tournament ta win!"

Mai's eye twitched slightly as she quickly rose to the bait, "Hun, I already told you that this time I'm coming out on top."

"Yeah well you'll have ta get through me first!" Joey shot back.

Yugi let out a small sigh as the two started to bicker back and forth, _"This could take a while, I hope Tea and Tristan don't get too mad holding our place in line."_

"I'll just go wait in the car." Yugi was almost certain that neither Mai nor Joey heard him, but didn't bother to repeat himself. As he hopped into the back seat of Mai's car he heard the pharaoh's voice, _"Well at least we can be sure that this won't be a dull day"_

&&&

"Where have you guys been? We've been holding your place in line for over an hour now!" Tea Gardner crossed her arms as she shot an annoyed glare at Mai, Yugi, and Joey who arrived out of breath, they obviously had ran from the parking lot.

"All the good it did, you guys are the last duelists to show up! All the other competitors have already gone through registration!" Tristan Taylor added with a sour expression on his face.

"Oh no! Are we too late ta get in ta the tournament now?" Joey asked.

Tristan shook his head, "Lucky for you guys Tea was able to sweet talk the tournament coordinator into letting her register you guys for you! That's the guy right over there." he pointed out an obese man with greasy skin and a balding head.

The five friends shuddered simultaneously and Tea angrily pointed out, "You guys owe me, big! He actually had the nerve to put his arm around me!" Tea rubbed at the offended portion of her sleeve.

"The first duels of round one will be beginning shortly. All participating Duelists please report to your stations." A female voice called over the convention center's P.A. system.

"Come on guys, we gotta get Joey to his station, he's in one of the first duels!" Tea explained.

Joey pumped his fist in the air, "All right! Let me at da guy! Lead the way Tea, and I'll show him how ta duel Joey Wheeler style!" Joey had a bright gleam in his eye and was grinning widely.

Tristan shook his head and ruefully added, "Joey Wheeler style? You mean all luck and no brains?"

"Watch yourself buddy, I'll take ya down any day of da week!" Joey shot back angrily.

As they made their way through the center many other duelists and spectators started talking excitedly among themselves and pointing out towards Yugi and Mai. "You see, these people know talent when they see it!" Joey exclaimed proudly.

"They're all talking about Yugi and Mai, Joey. Why don't you let some of that hot air out of your head before you pop?" Tea commented dryly as everyone else chuckled.

"Keep ya snide comments ta yourself Tea! Besides these people love me! Hey little buddy you want an autograph from your favorite duelist?" Joey bent down to smile at a little boy holding onto his father's leg.

"Who are you?" the little boy asked in response, and Joey promptly fell over and his friends laughed even louder.

Mai bent over and helped Joey to his feet, "C'mon lets get you out of here before you embarrass yourself any more than you already have."

"You might as well leave him on the ground, it's where low class duelists like him belong." A deep voice called out.

Joey immediately recognized the speaker and stiffened angrily, "And ta think I actually hoped dat you would live up to your high and mighty attitude and decide not ta compete in dis tournament Kaiba."

"Any chance I have to get back my championship dueling title from Yugi, I will exploit Wheeler. You better hope that you don't get between me and Yugi, because I will take you down." Kaiba shot a glare at Yugi who grinned back in response.

"Anytime you wanna go rich boy!" Joey got right in Seto Kaiba's face before Yugi could get a word in, "I told ya da last time we dueled dat I would fight you anytime anywhere!"

"And I told you last time that dueling you would just be a waste of my time Wheeler. Why don't you run along home and leave this tournament to the real duelists. I hear that next week they're holding the junior division finals, maybe you could qualify." There was no smile on Kaiba's face, but it was still evident he was enjoying putting Joey down.

Joey growled in response and tightened his fists, "You're just lucky I'm late for my first match rich boy." Joey stalked off and his friends followed closely behind him.

"Dat stinking Kaiba, just who the hell he thinks he is I haven't a clue." Joey was muttering angrily to himself.

"When are you going to learn to ignore him Joey? You know better than anyone what a jerk Kaiba is. Don't let him get to you, you're one of the best duelists around." Tea pointed out as she placed a hand on Joey's shoulder.

Joey smiled as the tension left his shoulders, "You know what Tea? You're right, Kaiba ain't worth it. Besides it'll just make it all da sweeter when I finally kick his can in a duel!"

Tea let out a small sigh as she shook her head, "Geez, one little compliment and suddenly you think you can take on the whole world. Don't get ahead of yourself Joey, Kaiba's a jerk sure, but he's still one of the best there is."

"I'll get him one day. You wait and see." Joey promised.

"One duel at a time Joey! Don't forget you have a match to get to." Yugi reminded him.

"Yeah, hey there's the dueling station over there." Joey pointed out an area where a rectangular barricade was set up. The barricade was barely two feet tall, enough to clear out a large enough space for a duel. The blue walls of the barricade were flanked by five row bleachers, which were quickly filling up with duelists and other spectators who were eagerly awaiting the upcoming match.

"Good luck Joey, we'll all be cheering for you!" Yugi beamed a smile at Joey.

"Give him one for me, okay hun?" Mai added with a wink and a smile.

"Count on it! Get ready for a dazzling display of dueling skill!" Joey laughed as he trotted over to the barricade, not noticing the sweat drops that were running down the backs of his friends' heads.

"Well he's as confident as ever." Yugi remarked.

"If by confident you mean arrogant and reckless, then yes. He's as confident as ever." Tea remarked dryly. "C'mon lets grab some seats before they're all taken up.

&&&

"Name please?" A young woman wearing gray khaki pants with a dark blouse asked Joey as he approached the barricade.

"Joey Wheeler." Joey answered as he offered his hand.

She smiled as he shook Joey's hand, "Megan Lewis, I'll be the tournament official for this duel. I just want to make one thing clear. While you are allowed to converse with your opponent during the duel, we will not tolerate any discourteous or disrespectful behavior among our competitors. So please be sure to restrain yourself, all right?"

Joey's smile didn't falter, "No worries, I'm just here ta have fun and win."

"Very good, please take your place and wait for my signal to begin. Your opponent is already waiting for you." Megan answered.

"Thanks." Joey answered as he calmly vaulted over the barricade and took his first good look at his opponent. The young man wasn't any taller than Joey. He was wearing blue jeans with a black hoody crowned at the cuffs in circles of red. Blue eyes framed his face, and his head was covered in short black hair. Joey offered his opponent and waved a greeting, "Joey Wheeler."

The young man smiled back, "The name is Ken Shiro. I've heard about you Joey, I'm sure this is gonna be a fun duel."

"Oh yeah? Which part did you hear about? Second in duelist kingdom or fourth at battle city?" Joey asked with a wide grin.

A puzzled look crossed Ken's face, "Neither actually, I overheard a little kid asking Seto Kaiba if he could get help him get your autograph and he went off about…"

Joey waved Ken off, "Never mind I get da picture already. Let me just warn you dat Kaiba's got a habit of being less den honest about my dueling skills."

"Fair enough, I guess I'll just have to find out the old fashioned way. Lets get this duel started already." Ken eagerly called out to Megan.

Megan nodded once and brought a microphone up to her lips, "This first round duel between Joey Wheeler and Ken Shiro will now begin."

Joey and Ken simultaneously deployed their duel disks and each displayed four thousand life points, "Let's duel!"

Both players drew their first five cards but before looking at them Ken announced, "I hope you don't mind if I start things off." Before Joey could answer either way Ken drew his sixth card and spread his hand out.

"I guess not." Joey responded with a small grin on his face.

"_Excellent. I couldn't ask for a better starting hand."_ Ken smiled as he moved two cards to his right hand; "First I'll place two cards face down on the field." As Ken placed his cards in his duel disk two shimmering holographic cards appeared at his feet. "Then I'll activate Different Dimension Capsule." A spell card appeared face up before Joey, displaying the picture of a sarcophagus.

"This card's effect allows me to remove one card from my deck from play. In two turns that card will come straight to my hand." Ken quickly pulled a card from his deck and deposited it inside his duel disk. "Finally I'll summon Absorbing Kid From the Sky in attack mode." Ken's duel disk generated a strange looking young boy with his heavy gut poking out from his white shirt. Small white wings flapped once as the monster stared at Joey with its arms crossed, a large blue box appeared displaying an attack strength of 1300. "That's all for now. Your move."

Joey had a frown on his face as he drew his sixth card; _"I don't know about dat capsule a his, who knows what card he's hiding in dat thing. The good news is that he summoned a pretty wimpy monster, it should be easy enough to take out." _

&&&

Meanwhile in the stands Mai, Tristan, Tea, and Yugi were all watching the duel attentively, "What do you think so far Yugi?" Tea asked.

"Its hard to say this early in the duel Tea. Joey has got to be worried about that card that Ken is going to draw, but he should be relatively safe for the next two turns." Yugi answered.

&&&

"All right den." Joey called out as he finished his plan. "I'll play two cards face down, den summon Alligator Sword in attack mode!" Three cards flashed into existence in front of Joey, one of them quickly assumed the form of a large alligator brandishing a sword. The display box revealed 1500 attack points.

"_Dose two face down cards of his could be a problem, but I can't just sit back and take the risk dat he'll sacrifice dat monster ta play an even stronger one next turn. Besides my scapegoats should protect me if something goes wrong." _Joey made up his mind and lifted to point at Ken's monster, "Alligator Sword, attack his monster with searing sword slash!"

Alligator Sword wasted no time in sprinting towards Absorbing Kid from the Sky, but Ken didn't look worried at all, "Reveal Energy Drain!" at his command one of the face down cards in front of him lifted itself. The purple card revealed an armored warrior struggling against an unseen force. "Absorbing Kid from the Sky counterattack!"

"What are you nuts?" Joey asked, "You're monster has less attack points den mine!"

Ken let out a laugh as his trap card flashed dangerously, suddenly Absorbing Kid from the Sky was bathed in a bright glow, and its attack strength leaped to 1900. When the two monsters collided, Alligator sword was thrown back and exploded into countless pieces. Joey gasped as his life point counter dropped to 3600.

"Allow me to explain," Ken began as his monster returned to his side of the field, "Energy Drain allows me to increase the attack strength of one of my monsters by two hundred points for every card in my opponent's hand." Ken pointed to Joey's hand, "Hence three cards means six hundred more attack points for my monster. But that's not the only thing you have to worry about."

"What do you mean?" Joey asked, and his eyes widened as Ken's life point counter leaped to 5200.

"Absorbing Kid From the Sky has a special ability. Whenever he destroys a monster in combat I gain three hundred life points for every star that monster had." He brandished his life point counter so Joey could easily see his score.

Joey frowned as he looked down at his duel disk. _"All right, he caught me by surprise with dat trap and now he's got more life points den usual, but as long as I have my scapegoats ready to defend my life points I'll be able to comeback."_ Joey looked up at Ken with a smile on his face, "Good one pal, I guess its your move."

&&&

"That was a good move." Mai admitted. "Not only does Joey have no monsters on the field to protect his life points, but now he'll have to work even harder to bring Ken's life points to zero."

"I wouldn't be too worried yet." Yugi said, "Joey has gotten out of worse spots, and he still has two cards on the field."

&&&

Ken drew from his deck and examined the card with a smile, "Unfortunately, Energy Drain only works for one turn, so Absorbing Kid from the Sky goes back to 1300 attack points." Ken's monster wore a melancholy expression as its attack strength dropped back down. "Luckily, I have a monster right here with even more attack points." Ken quickly exchanged the monster card on his duel disk with another one, displaying the image of a winged warrior in large blue armor. "I sacrifice Absorbing Kid from the Sky in order to summon Airknight Parshath to the field in attack mode!"

Joey's eyes widened slightly with worry as a bright light enveloped Ken's first monster, when the light faded Joey was facing down a monster with 1900 attack points.

&&&

"This could be a problem." Yugi stated with a slight tone of awe in his voice.

"What do you mean Yugi? That isn't exactly the toughest monster I've ever seen." Tristan commented.

"Airknight Parshath is a rare Fairy type monster with powerful special abilities." Yugi began to explain, "And if Joey is going to play the card I think he is, he's in real trouble."

&&&

"_Okay, I've got this guy right where I want him. I doubt his face down cards will be able to help him now."_ Ken lifted his arm, "Airknight Parshath, attack his life points directly!"

"Not quite pal!" Joey countered, "I activate scapegoats!" Shortly after revealing itself the green spell card spawned four small goats that arrayed themselves in front of the rushing Airknight Parshath.

Ken laughed out loud; "Sorry Joey, but your goats won't be able to protect you from my monster!"

"What are you going on about? My goats are all in defense mode!" Joey protested.

"Watch and learn!" Ken countered, "Airknight Parshath activate soul shear blade!" With a concentrated frown on its face Airknight Parshath lifted its sword above its head as it began emitting a bright yellow glow. With a casual sweep of the blade one of Joey's panicking scapegoats evaporated and an arc of yellow light slammed into Joey, nearly knocking him off his feet.

Joey grunted as he stumbled back to a standing position and looked on in amazement as his life point counter shifted again, dropping to 1700. "How did you do that if my goats were all in defense mode?"

"Airknight Parshath may not have a terribly impressive attack score for a level five monster, but its special abilities make it an invaluable asset nonetheless!" Ken was smiling as he addressed Joey, "You see when Airknight Parshath attacks a monster in defense mode, it deals the difference in damage directly to my opponent's life points. Since your goats have a nonexistent defense rating my Airknight was essentially attacking you as if your goats didn't even exist." Ken's Airknight casually swept its blade through the air as a small grin lit its features.

"No way." Was all Joey could think to say, _"If he attacks another one of my scapegoats next turn, den dis duel is over!"_

"I'm sure you'll be sorry to hear that my monster has another special ability that was activated when it damaged your life points." Ken continued.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked in a guarded tone.

"Since Airknight damaged your life points I can draw another card from my deck with no penalty." With a smile on his face Ken drew his card. After quickly reviewing his hand he looked back up to Joey, "Well I think that's enough for now, but don't forget that after my next turn is over I'll be able to open the different dimension capsule and access the card within it. Not that it matters, my Airknight only needs one more attack to bring your life points to zero."

Joey let out an indignant laugh, "If you think Joey Wheeler is just gonna sit back and let dat happen you got another thing coming!" _"Talking big is one thing, but Ken's right. I'm in a lot of trouble here."_ Joey mused to himself as he reviewed the three cards in his hand. _"Swordsman of Landstar, Tiny Winguard, and Sand Gambler, none of my monsters have enough attack points to take out his Airknight. Even if I summon one of them he'll just attack one of my goats to finish me off. My skull dice trap card could buy me another turn if I roll anything over a one, but I'd still lose life points and Ken'll be able to draw another card!" _Joey gnawed on his lip for a moment as he continued to think, _"My best shot is if I can draw a monster with enough attack points ta take his monster out." _

"Come on, quit stalling and draw your card already." Ken called out with an impatient frown on his face.

"All right, All right, ya can't rush genius ya know." Joey replied with a nervous edge to his voice. He lifted his hand to his deck and closed his eyes as he drew his card.

&&&

"Unless Joey can draw a monster powerful enough to take out Ken's Airknight this could be his last turn." Yugi explained to his friends with a worried expression on his face.

"Don't count Joey out just yet." Mai responded, "I've got a feeling that he'll draw what he needs."

Tristan turned a disbelieving eye towards Mai, "I thought you gave up that whole psychic scam back at duelist kingdom."

Mai rolled her eyes, "I'm not psychic, it's just a feeling."

&&&

Joey opened his eyes and let out a mental cry of triumph, _"Just what I was hoping for!"_. Joey looked up at Ken, "Hey Ken, check dis out, I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!"

Ken's smile faltered slightly as Joey's Panther Warrior roared out a challenge as its 2000 attack points were displayed.

"All I gotta do is sacrifice one of my Scapegoats and your Airknight goes down da hard way! Go Panther Warrior, attack his Airknight Parshath!" With another roar Joey's Panther Warrior sprang forward and lifted its sword to strike even as another of Joey's scapegoats disappeared from the field.

Ken's Airknight Parshath rushed forward wearing a determined look on its face to meet the attack and the two monsters met with a vicious clash of steel, but Panther Warrior's sword sliced cleanly through Airknight Parshaths' blade and continued on to slice the monster in two. A small grimace appeared on Ken's face as his life points dropped to 5100.

"Yes! Joey Wheeler is back in control a dis duel!" Joey exclaimed happily.

"You're getting awfully excited over such a small victory. My Airknight may be gone but I still have 5100 life points and deck full of even more powerful Fairy type monsters." Ken answered, "So if you've finished your turn I think I'll take mine."

"Be my guest." Joey answered.

Ken wasted no time in drawing his card, after quickly reviewing his hand he placed another monster card on his duel disk, "I summon Mystical Elf in defense mode, and end my turn."

"So much for dat deck full of powerful Fairy monsters eh Ken?" Joey taunted as he drew his card.

"_I only need to hold him off for this turn, then different dimension capsule will give me the card I need to help me wipe that smug grin off his face. My mystical elf has enough defense points to keep his panther warrior at bay." _Ken let a smile drift onto his face, _"After I summon my next monster I'll trigger my other trap card and I can end this duel with no fuss." _Ken looked down at the trap card in question; it displayed the picture of an angel with wings widespread in front of an awesome light.

Joey also had a grin on his face as he reviewed his newest card, _"I bet he thinks he's safe with that mystical elf protecting his life points, but dis monster can change all dat in a big hurry." _"I summon Disc Fighter to the field in attack mode." A warrior in dark armor holding two green disks flared to life next to Panther Warrior the display showed an attack score of 1000.

"Big deal, that monster won't help you get past my mystical elf." Ken said.

"Well allow me ta educate ya. Disc Fighter, attack mystical elf, strategic strike!" With a growl Disk Fighter drew back and let both of its green disks fly. With a loud crash both of the projectiles collided with Mystical Elf, and the monster vanished without complaint as the disks returned to the warrior.

Ken's eyes were wide in his head, "But Disc Fighter's attack strength was no where near Mystical Elf's defense rate."

"You're not the only one that uses monsters with special abilities, whenever Disc Fighter attacks a monster in defense mode that has 2000 or more defense points, den dat monster is automatically totaled!" Joey was smiling as he lifted a finger to point at Ken's face down card, "And since you didn't use your face down card ta stop my Panther Warrior from destroying your Airknight I'd say it won't be able to stop me from attacking your life points directly. I offer up another scapegoat so Panther warrior can attack, say goodbye to 2000 of your life points!"

With a single slash of Panther Warrior's sword Ken was knocked back to the edge of the barricade and his life point counter quickly dropped to 3100.

After Ken collected himself he addressed Joey, "I gotta admit, you surprised me with that one Wheeler. You were right, Kaiba really doesn't tell the tale when it comes to you, but if your turn is over then this duel is mine because the different dimension capsule opens at the beginning of my turn!" Ken exclaimed.

"Yeah, go ahead and take your best shot, I'm ready for ya!" Joey challenged back.

&&&

"That's the way Joey, take it to him!" Tristan called from the stands as the crowd got more excited with the duel.

"Yeah show him whose boss!" Tea added in.

The voice of the pharaoh began talking in Yugi's head, _"Joey did make an excellent play, but this duel is far from over. Ken pulled that card from his deck for a reason, and he'll be able to use it this turn."_

"_Yeah I'm worried too. That card could be anything."_ Yugi responded.

&&&

"My move!" Ken drew his card and his duel disk started emitting a bright light from the card graveyard. As Ken deposited his different dimension capsule into the graveyard another card immediately popped out into his waiting hand, "I play The Sanctuary in the Sky!" A slot opened at the far end of Ken's duel disk and he neatly deposited a green card, immediately the duel disks holo projectors began humming with intensity as they displayed a dazzling light show.

The audience was stunned silent and Joey was forced to shield his eyes from the glare. After a few moments Joey was able to lower his hands and get a good look at Ken's newest card. Behind Ken a massive white marble temple floated serenely on a bed of clouds. There was even a holographic sun behind it that was letting off the bright glow.

"What is dat?" Joey asked in awe.

"The Sanctuary in the Sky is a place of great strength, it allows me to unlock the hidden powers of my most devastating monsters!" Ken cried out as he lifted a card high above his head, "I summon the Agent of Force Mars, in attack mode!" Ken slapped his monster card in place, the duel arena was bathed in an eerie red glow as a bright white circle materialized in front of Ken. A red figure with dark wings, and white eyes slowly floated up from the portal bearing a double-sided weapon. One end was crowned with a heavy war hammer, while the other elongated into two spear points.

Finally the red light vanished as the Agent of Force twirled its weapon over its head and brought its spear points to bear in Joey's direction, but the crowd was puzzled to note that the monster had 0 attack points.

Joey actually let out a nervous laugh and made a show of wiping the sweat from his brow, "Dat light show a yours had me worried for a second dere, but dat's your most devastating monster? What can it do with no attack points?"

Ken smiled as his monster frowned at Joey, "You're quite right the Agent of Force has no attack or defense points, but like so many of his brethren, his inner powers can be brought forth by The Sanctuary in The Sky. I assure you, its special abilities make it more than capable of bringing you down, just look! Agent of Force activate force of life!"

The Agent of Force issued a deep booming cry as its red skin gave off a deep blue aura. It's eyes cast off a deep glare and before Joey and the awestruck audience it doubled in size and mass. When the monster stopped growing it looked down on Joey's side of the field and its eyes spilled an amber glow. The display informed Joey that the Agent of Force now possessed 1400 attack and defense points.

"Okay." Joey began a bead of nervous sweat forming on his face, "Dat's a little more impressive den it was a second ago. How'd you do dat?"

"When The Sanctuary in the Sky is on field the Agent of Force's attack and defense scores become equal to the difference between our life points. Provided of course that I have more life points than my opponent, which has been the case for this entire duel." Ken had a confident smile on his face as he addressed Joey.

Joey was smiling as well, "I gotta hand it ta ya bud, I had no idea I was in for such a fight when I took my first look at you. You're monsters have thrown me for a loop more den once, but I'm still in control of dis duel! Your Agent may have more attack points den my Disc Fighter, but even if you destroy it my Panther Warrior will just take it down next turn!"

"Oh?" Ken asked with an amused grin on his face. "Do you really think so? Why don't we find out? Agent of Force, attack Disc Fighter, Heaven Fury!" The Agent of Force launched itself high into the air with one flap of its powerful wings, it let out a deep war cry as it plummeted towards Disc Fighter while twirling its weapon between its fingers.

"Reveal Skull Dice!" Joey cried out, with a bright flash the Agent of Force was halted in its attack and began floating in front of Disc Fighter.

A bead of nervous sweat flowed down Ken's face as he saw an impish creature toss a die in between Disc Fighter and The Agent of Force. "What are you up to Wheeler? What does that trap card do?"

Joey was grinning, "Its simple division Ken. Your monster's attack score will be divided by the number rolled on the die. Isn't math fun when it works for ya?"

Ken let out a strained breath as he anxiously watched for the die to stop rolling, and nearly fainted when it slowed on a six, but the die turned a final time and settled on a two.

"Not as good as I was hoping for, but still enough to let my Disc Fighter take your monster down! Counterattack with exploding disk throw!" Joey shouted as the Agent of Force's attack strength dropped by half to settle at 700.

"You won't take the Agent of Force down so easily Wheeler! Or have you forgotten about my face down card?" Ken challenged as he activated his other face down card.

"Oh no, what's dat?" Joey asked with dread as he gazed on the trap card.

"Solar Ray!" Ken answered. "For every light monster on my side of the field you lose 600 life points!"

"What?" Joey exploded with shock as a bright light burst from the trap card and slammed into him directly. Joey winced as he watched his life point counter drop to 1100 and gazed back up in time to see the Agent of Force's attack strength increase from 700 to 1300. Joey could only watch with dread as his Disc Fighter heaved a green disk at the Agent of Force with dizzying speed, but just as quickly the other monster used its hammer to bat away the projectile and quickly closed on Disc Fighter. With a blinding flash of steel the Agent of Force impaled Disc Fighter on its spear, it only took a moment for Joey's monster to shatter.

Once again Joey's life point counter shifted this time settling on 800 while the Agent of Force retreated to stand before Ken and displayed an improved attack score of 1600.

"Well then, I think you've had enough for this turn." Ken started with a satisfied smile on his face, "But before I let you draw your last card I'll place another one face down on the field." The card flashed to existence at Ken's feet. "Your move Joey."

"_Dis definitely isn't good. Skull Dice only works for one turn, so as soon as I draw my card his Agent of Force will have more attack points den my Panther Warrior. None of the monsters in my hand will be strong enough to take it out either. I could always try Sand Gambler, but I'm really hoping for a clutch draw here."_ Joey admitted as he reached for his deck.

He drew his card and a big grin split his face, "I activate Pot of Greed! Now I can draw another two cards from my deck!"

Ken's smile faltered slightly even though his Agent of Force's attack power shifted to settle on 2300 attack points, _"I don't like this, the more cards he draws the better the chance he'll find something that can destroy my Agent."_

Joey drew his cards, _"Not bad at all, Graceful Charity and Offerings to da Doomed. But before I use Offerings to take out his Agent I might as well see if I can't draw something dat can handle the job better."_

"I play Graceful Charity!" Joey announced as he drew another three cards from his deck.

"_Damn!"_ Ken swore angrily in his mind as he waited for Joey to play his next card.

"_Very nice if I do say so myself."_ Joey looked at his cards in glee, _"Roulette Spider, Graverobber, and Magic Arm Shield. So first I'll ditch the Swordsman of Landstar and Tiny Winguard."_ Joey took the two monster cards he picked out and deposited them in his graveyard, "I gotta discard two cards, and I pick dese."

"That's fine. Anything else?" Ken asked, his voice hopeful.

Joey actually laughed, "Yeah you'd like it if I didn't have any other moves, sorry to disappoint you. I play Offerings to da Doomed!" The Spell card appeared in front of Joey as he explained, "Dis card let's me destroy any monster on the field as long as I give up my next draw phase, so say goodbye to your Agent of Force!"

Several long bandages appeared from the face of Joey's spell card and they raced towards the Agent of Force. Joey let out a triumphant laugh as the first ones began wrapping themselves around Ken's monster.

"Sorry Joey, good idea, but you picked the wrong monster!" Ken retorted with a bright smile on his face.

"What are you going on about? Your monster is toast!" Joey shouted back. Joey's protest was cut short and he looked on in shocked amazement as the Agent of Force's eyes glowed with a fierce light. Before Joey's eyes his Spell card shattered, and the Agent of Force was undamaged.

"The Agent of Force is not only a powerful combatant, but he also possesses a natural resistance to all Spell cards!" Ken explained. "If you want to get rid of my Agent you can't rely on any of your Spell cards!"

"_Ah well dat's just great. I just threw away my next draw phase for nothing!" _Joey complained to himself as he surveyed the field and weighed his options. _Dis is really starting to look bad!"_

&&&

In the stands Joey's friends all concurred with his assessment, "This Ken guy has Joey against the ropes, and he's moving in for the knockout." Tristan exclaimed with quiet awe.

"Quit it with your pessimism Tristan, Joey will make a comeback, he always does." Mai answered back without much enthusiasm.

"You sound so sure of yourself when you say that." Tea remarked with worry in her voice.

"I am sure!" Mai defended herself more hotly, "Do you think Joey's gonna let himself be beaten in the first round of a tournament after what Kaiba said to him earlier? He'd sooner put on a dog costume than give up on this duel!"

Mai was extremely satisfied when she saw the grins form on her friends' faces, she was quite pleased with herself, not realizing that it was the memory of Joey in a dog costume at Duke Devlin's game shop that caused their smiles. Not any renewed enthusiasm in Joey's chances of winning.

"_Don't worry Yugi. Joey is strong, he can turn this duel around, he just needs to have faith in his deck, and we need to have faith in him."_ The pharaoh's voice echoed in Yugi's mind.

"Mai's right guys, Joey will turn this duel around, we just need to keep believing in him." Yugi chimed in with a hopeful voice.

&&&

"_Okay Joey. You let dis guy have his fun and let the dramatic suspense build up enough for da crowd. Its time ta win dis duel!"_ Joey tried to pump himself up in his mind, _"I just have ta play my cards right, and Ken will give me da chance I need ta end dis!"_

"Well Joey, are you gonna play any other cards, or should I just take my last turn and end this duel?" Ken asked.

"I don't think so Ken, Joey Wheeler never calls it quits! First I'll switch my Panther Warrior to defense mode!" Joey called back as he shifted his card from a vertical to horizontal position.

Joey's blood went cold when Ken let out a triumphant laugh, "I was just waiting for you to do that Joey! I activate Tragedy!" Ken pushed the appropriate button on his duel disk and his face down card was revealed to be a trap with the picture of a screaming woman and a dark figure menacing her.

"I can activate this card anytime you switch a monster from attack mode to defense mode." Ken informed him.

"Oh yeah?" Joey shot back, "Well don't keep me suspense, what does da card do?"

Ken grinned, "It destroys every monster on your side of the field in defense mode!"

Joey's eyes widened as a black mist quickly spread along the ground from Ken's trap card and moved in towards his Panther Warrior and Last scapegoat. As soon as the mist reached his monsters, dark hands reached up and clawed at them until they had a secure grip. With frightening speed Joey's monsters were dragged from site and were gone.

"I've got you right where I want you Wheeler, with no monsters on the field this turn will be your last!" Ken gloated.

"Sorry ta disappoint you Ken, but my turn ain't over yet!" Joey responded. "I summon Sand Gambler ta the field in defense mode!" A hologram of a smiling man kneeling on one knee and tossing three coins into the air flashed to life in front of Joey. "Then I'll place two cards face down on the field!" With a flash of light the cards appeared at Joey's feet.

Ken wasn't impressed, "Anything else Joey?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact there is. I activate Sand Gambler's special ability!" With a flick of his wrist the Sand Gambler tossed all three of his coins high in the air.

"What are you up to Wheeler?" Ken asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Joey grinned, "Just a simple coin toss is all Ken. Here's da rules, if I get all heads your Agent is destroyed, all tails means my Sand Gambler is toast! How does dat strike ya?"

Ken frowned, "You only have a one in six shot Wheeler, and its just as likely that you're monster will be destroyed as mine."

"Dat's what makes it so interesting!" Joey called back. "Now pay attention, da coins are coming down."

Both the duelists and the audience watched with rapt attention as the coins began their descent to the floor. The first coin that struck landed on heads, and Joey smiled while Ken quickly wiped his brow. The second coin landed, bounced into the air and finally settled on heads, now the ground was murmuring excitedly amongst themselves while Ken's eyes widened in disbelief. The last coin came down and was spinning rapidly on its edge, and Ken suddenly felt faint as more sweat began decorating his brow. After an agonizing wait the last coin finally settled and Ken let out a deep breath of relief as the crowd broke out into an amazed groan as they realized that Ken's monster wouldn't be destroyed.

Joey couldn't believe his bad luck, _"I was so close!" _but he quickly composed himself_ "But close don't count in duel monsters. Get it tagether Wheeler, dis duel ain't over yet."_

"All right Ken, its your move."

Ken let out another relieved breath as he drew his next card, "I'll place one card face down on the field and summon Hysteric Fairy in attack mode." The cards flashed into existence and a Fairy with white wings, blue hair, and glasses stood next to the Agent of Force, displaying an attack strength of 1800. "I gotta hand it to you Wheeler, you had me worried back there, but this is it, the last turn. Agent of Force, attack Sand Gambler, Hammer blow!"

"Not this time Ken! I activate Magic Arm Shield!" Joey's trap card sprang into action just before the Agent of Force could bring its hammer down on top of Sand Gambler, a large spring arm exploded from the face of the card and grabbed Ken's Hysteric Fairy. "Say goodbye to 500 life points Ken, cause your Agent of Force has a new target!" With blinding speed Joey's trap card threw Hysteric Fairy into the Agent of Force's path, Ken's monster seemed to be confused for a moment, but with one swing of the Agent's hammer Hysteric Fairy was no more.

Joey's grin didn't last however, because Ken's life points didn't even flicker for a moment. "Hey! What's da deal! You shoulda lost five hundred life points!"

Ken answered quickly, "Sorry to disappoint you Joey, it was a good move but you forgot about The Sanctuary in the Sky!" Ken waved a hand to indicate the temple behind him still floating gently on a bed of clouds.

"What are you talking about? You telling me dat card has another ability besides hyping up the Agent of Force?" Joey asked.

Ken shook his head, "I guess you didn't catch on yet Joey. The Agent of Forces' special ability gives it the additional attack and defense points when The Sanctuary in the Sky is in play."

Joey couldn't believe his ears, "So what does dat card do den?"

"As long as The Sanctuary is in play neither one of us can lose any life points when our fairy type monsters are destroyed as a result of battle." Ken informed him proudly. "But you shouldn't feel too bad Joey, you protected your monster and managed to take out one of mine. Good play, I have to end my turn." Ken announced with an approving smile on his face.

"_Yeah, he can afford to be gracious. He knows as well as I do dat I can't draw dis turn, and the cards I already have can't hurt him"_ Joey frowned in concentration as he tried to think. "Since I can't draw I'll just activate Sand Gambler's special ability." Once again Joey's monster threw three coins high into the air. _"C'mon lady luck, you've been so good to me up til now just give me a little more love!" _Joey silently prayed.

Ken and Joey shared frowns when the coins hit the floor, two tails and one head, once again neither one of them got the result they wanted. "I end my turn." Joey announced.

"_I only have one shot to stay in dis duel now. If he can summon another monster, he has to attack with his Agent of Force first."_

Ken drew his card and smiled, "I summon Mystical Shine Ball in attack mode." With a flash of light a bright translucent orb appeared next to the Agent of Force and displayed an attack strength of 500 points. "I'm sure you don't think much of it Joey, but after my Agent of Force destroys your sand Gambler it'll take more than half of your remaining life points from you." Ken pointed at Joey's monster, "Agent of Force, destroy his Sand Gambler now!"

With one quick blow Joey's monster was destroyed, and Ken followed up with another command "Mystical Shine Ball attack his life points directly!"

Joey was activating his trap card before Ken could even finish his order, "Reveal Graverobber! Dis trap card lets me play any card I want from your graveyard!"

"What?" Ken called out in surprise. "What's the matter Wheeler, your own cards can't save you so you have to take mine instead?"

"What can I say? I'm a bright guy. Dis trap card lets me use my opponents' best cards against them, and dis time I choose Airknight Parshath!" Joey exclaimed as his laughing gnome flipped the card it was holding to reveal Ken's Airknight Parshath. "Somehow I don't think dat Airknight is too impressed with your Mystical Shine Ball Ken." Joey taunted as a casual sweep of the Airknights' sword cut Ken's monster clean in half.

"Damn it Wheeler, stop being so stubborn! Not even my Airknight can stop the Agent of Force. You're just delaying your inevitable defeat." Ken snapped angrily.

Joey started wagging a finger in the air as he smiled, "Now now, don't start pouting. You've fought a great match so far, no need ta get upset."

"Fine, just make your move Wheeler." Ken acquiesced.

"I'd be happy to." Joey drew his card and looked down on it. _"Yes! Just what I needed ta get rid of his magic card!" _"Sorry Ken, but I'm about ta take a huge chunk of your life points!"

Ken laughed, "Yeah right Wheeler you don't have any monster powerful enough to get past my Agent of Force."

"Sure I do." Joey argued with a light tone, "Or should I say, sure I will?"

"What are you talking about?" Ken asked in an annoyed tone.

"I play Giant Trunade!" Joey called as he slapped the Spell card home, "Dis magic card sends all your magic and trap cards back ta ya hand!"

Pure panic seized Ken as a massive whirlwind issued forth from Joey's card threatening to blow his sanctuary away and leave him completely open to a devastating attack, "Activate Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell!" Ken quickly took a card from his hand that was framed in green and sent it to his graveyard. "Since I've discarded a spell card from my hand to the graveyard, my trap card will stop your magic card!" Ken declared loudly over the roar of Joey's magic card. A circle of light appeared at Ken's feet and glowed brightly as dark red mist issued forth. When the mist touched the whirlwind it completely died without any complaint.

"_Okay, dis is officially getting annoying. Dis guy has managed to stop almost every strategy I've used since dis duel began!" _Joey growled inside his mind as hot anger bubbled up in him.

Meanwhile Ken was breathing heavily as he tried to calm his racing heart, _"That was way too close. Not only would he have destroyed my Agent, he would've knocked me down to twelve hundred life points."_

Joey finally calmed down and looked down at the last card in his hand. _"Its my only option right now, I have ta go for it!" _"All right Ken, listen up."

Ken's blues eyes rose up to meet Joey's, "Yeah? What's next Wheeler, you ending your turn?"

"Not just yet, buddy. I play roulette spider!" Joey announced as he slid the magic card into place.

Ken let out an exasperated groan as the mechanical spider appeared on the field, "Skull Dice, Sand Gambler, Roulette spider? Has anyone ever told you that you're a candidate for a major gambling problem?"

Joey laughed out loud and scratched the top of his head as he closed his eyes in embarrassment, "What can I say? It's fun ta play da odds!"

Ken shook his head slightly even as he smiled, "Fine then, just get on with it. What does this card do?"

"I'm delighted you asked," Joey responded, "After I give up half of my life points Roulette Spider will attach itself ta the strongest monster on the field." As he spoke Joey's life point counter flashed down to 400, while the Agent of Force's attack strength climbed to 2700.

Ken frowned in confusion, "I already told you that no spell cards can effect the Agent of Force, you just gave up half your life points for nothing."

"Now now, you didn't let me finish." Joey complained. "Since Roulette spider can't attach itself to your Agent of Force, it has to attach itself to Airknight Parshath!" As Joey pointed to the Airknight the spider obediently attached itself to the monsters' face and began spinning it rapidly in a circle.

"What's going on Wheeler?" Ken called out nervously as the monster began to spin faster and faster.

"Well, since Airknight is your monster you're gonna have to tell it ta stop, and when it does its going ta be facing one of three targets on da field." Joey began to point, "Either the Agent of Force, Me, or You!"

A bead of nervous sweat made its way down Ken's face as Joey continued, "And whatever target the Airknight is facing will be attacked directly." Joey flashed a bright smile, "So what are ya waiting for Ken? Go ahead and tell it ta stop!"

"_This guy has got guts I have to give him that. There's just as much of a chance that Airknight Parshath will attack him as it will me. The only way that this can help him is if Airknight attacks me directly, but that won't cost me the duel, if it attacks him he's finished!" _Ken mused silently to himself as his brows furrowed in concentration.

After a few moments of watching his monster spinning helplessly in the middle of the field Ken finally called out, "Airknight Parshath! Stop!"

&&&

The audience was completely silent as the monster began to slow down, and Joey's friends jaws were slack in shock and excitement.

"What was he thinking?" Tristan complained out loud. "If that thing lands on him he's out of the tournament!"

"Yes!" Yugi agreed, "But if it lands on Ken, then he'll drop down to 1200 life points and his Agent of Force will be weaker than Joey's Airknight Parshath!"

"Of course, it could always land on the Agent of Force, and Joey's monster will get completely creamed!" Tea added.

Mai didn't bother to add her comments, _"C'mon you have to land on Ken!" _She silently pleaded.

&&&

Ken was suddenly feeling nauseous and weak, _"What's taking this thing so long? And how can Wheeler look so calm? Doesn't he realize he could lose the duel right here?"_

Joey was wearing a calm smile on the outside, but he was much more worried than he let on, _"Come on, give me a break here! I can't lose da first duel of da tournament! Kaiba'll never let me live it down, dat arrogant prick!" _Joey's eye twitched for a moment but he managed to hold onto his calm face.

With an agonizing delay that was really only a few moments the monster finally began to slow down, and to Joey's panicked eyes, it was pointing at the wrong side of the field. _"Ah no, don't do dis ta me. You better keep on rolling ya stinking monster!" _Joey silently pleaded. He couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh when the arrow passed him by without stopping. Joey grinned while the color drained from Ken's face. _"Dis is it. One in two shot, either its gonna be da Agent or Ken."_

"_Stop! Stop! Stop!"_ Ken was frantically repeating over and over again in his mind, trying to will the monster to stop on his Agent, but his request was ultimately denied as his own monster settled directly in front of him.

The audience exploded into an amazed cheer as Joey shouted in glee, "Go Airknight Parshath! Attack his life points directly!" As Joey pumped his fist into the air Ken covered his face with both of his arms as a beam of golden light slammed into him and pushed him back several feet until the back of his heels came into contact with the barricade. With an agonized grunt Ken shot both of his arms out to balance himself in order to avoid falling over.

By the time Ken's life point counter stopped flashing it showed that he had 1200 life points remaining. His Agent of Force suddenly shrunk in both size and mass and its attack and defense ratings both plummeted to 800.

"How sweet it is!" Joey called out. "But wait, dere's more! After all since Airknight Parshath has dealt damage to your life points dat means I can draw another card from my deck!"

"So go ahead and draw your card so I can finish this duel!" Ken called out.

Joey drew his card and reviewed it carefully. _"Dis ain't a bad card ta have on da field for emergencies."_ Joey decided. "I place one card face down on da field and end my turn."

With a shaking hand Ken drew his card and looked at it and a large smile spilled across his face. _"This is too perfect. I was just going to use Monster Reborn, but there's no need to bother with it now. With this monster I'll finish him this turn!" _Ken looked up at Joey, "I just drew it." He announced.

A bead of nervous sweat colored Joey's face, "Drew what? Whaddya talking about?"

"I sacrifice the Agent of Force Mars!" A vicious wind immediately began swirling around the legs of the Agent of Force and before long the Monster faded in a red haze of light. The howling winds only intensified as Ken continued, "To bring forth The Agent of Judgement Saturn in attack mode!" Ken finished with a powerful shout as his hair and cloths were billowing around him under the fierce glades. Ken placed the monster card on his duel disk and a pillar of brilliant blue light shot up from the ground where the Agent of Force had stood.

As the light faded Joey was confronted with the image of a blue monster draped in white robes that was flanked by matching blue feathered wings that sprung from either shoulder. Bright yellow eyes peered at Joey as if they were staring straight through him, and Joey suddenly felt nervous and insecure under the scrutiny. It didn't help when the display informed him that the monster had 2400 attack points.

"It's been fun Wheeler, but this duel is over!" Ken called out with a wide smile on his face.

"You seem ta be forgetting da fact dat I have a Fairy monster on my side of the field. Your field magic card will make sure dat I don't lose any life points even if you attack!" Joey responded.

Ken actually laughed before explaining himself, "Sorry Joey but you're wrong. The Sanctuary in the Sky won't save you, in fact that's the reason why I'm going to win this duel!"

"Are you saying dat da sanctuary gives dat monster a special ability too?" Joey asked shocked disbelief coloring his voice.

Ken nodded slowly, enjoying himself immensely, "That's right Joey. As long as I have more life points than my opponent and the Sanctuary is in play, then I can sacrifice my Agent of Judgement to deal the difference between our life points as direct damage to yours!"

Joey took an unconscious step back as Ken lifted an arm to point straight at him, "Go Agent of Judgment, attack his life points directly with Heaven's Justice!" The Agent of Judgement folded its arms in front of its chest and began glowing with an intense yellow light. Suddenly a ball of white-hot energy began growing in front of the Agent of Judgement even as the monster began to fade from view. When the monster finally vanished from sight the energy wave launched itself at Joey at an incredible speed.

Joey couldn't even keep his eyes open as he turned away from the glow, he desperately wanted to cover his eyes with his hands to shield himself from the glare, but his right hand was blindly groping for his duel disk as he shouted as loud as he could, "Activate TRAP!". At the last possible moment Joey managed to snag the proper button on his duel disk and his face down card sprung into action, but it wasn't fast enough to stop the explosion of light that caused the entire audience and Ken to shy away from the scene and cover their eyes.

After a few moments the light died down and Joey was revealed, breathing heavily. He let off a grin as he lifted his duel disk so Ken could see his life point counter, it still read as 400.

"What? That's impossible! Your life points should have gone down to zero!" Ken called out in outraged amazement.

"Sorry Ken, but not dis time. Did ya forget my face down card?" Joey pointed down at his trap card that had the picture of several grinning goblins watching in amusement as a shoe was falling on one of their brethren. "Dis Trap of Board Eraser changes the amount of damage inflicted to my life points from a card effect ta zero!" Joey lifted his finger to point at Ken, "Which means dis duel is still on!"

Ken was seething, he couldn't believe that his attack had failed to win him the duel. _"I can't believe this guy is still hanging on! What do I have to do to finish him off?" _Ken let out a haggard breath and looked down at the last card in his hand. _"All right, he wants to drag this out for another turn, I'll oblige him. But I have the card I need to end this duel next turn."_

"Okay Wheeler, you obviously want this duel to last another turn, so I guess I can be patient for a little longer. But before I let you draw your last card I have one last move to make. I'll play Monster Reborn to bring the Agent of Judgement Saturn back to the field!" With a flash of blue light the Agent of Judgement was back on the field. "Since I can only use the Agent of Judgements' effect once per turn you're safe for now. But my next turn will be the last turn." Ken promised.

"Isn't dat about da third time you've said dat today Ken?" Joey asked with a grin as he drew his card. He looked down at a picture of a man standing over a table with duel monster cards on it pointing out as if to accuse the person holding the card of wrongdoing. "Well now dis is interesting." Joey said. "I activate da magic card Reasoning!"

Ken's eyes widened in surprise, "Reasoning?"

"Dat's right." Joey assured him. "Here's how it works, you pick a monster level and I start picking up cards from my deck until I find a monster card. If you guessed the correct monster level, all the cards go to my graveyard, but if ya guess wrong den da monster is automatically summoned ta da field!" Joey crossed his arms in front of his chest, "So go ahead Ken, pick a number!"

"_Okay, there's no reason to panic. All I have to do is make sure he doesn't summon a monster with more attack points than my Agent of Judgement. So the safe bet is to guess level 7 since there aren't many level six or lower monsters that have more than 2400 attack points." _Ken thought to himself.

"Fine Wheeler, I choose level seven!" Ken declared.

Joey smirked, _Dat's right, play it safe Ken. Sure dis means dat I can't rely on good ol Red Eyes, but I got another monster in mind. I only hope dat I draw it or it will be my last turn!"_

"Fair enough Ken, here goes." Joey drew three cards before the dull brown edges of a monster card caught his full attention. He gazed down at it with rapt attention for a moment before he broke out into a full smile. He lifted the monster so that Ken could see that six stars decorated it and not seven.

A knot tied itself in Ken's stomach as he realized that Joey would get to summon his monster, _"Relax, the odds are with you. As long as it has less than 2400 attack points you'll be fine."_ "Fine, go ahead and play your monster." Ken said icily.

"I summon Penumbral Soldier Lady in attack mode!" Joey called out as he slapped the card in place on his duel disk. With a bright flash a female warrior clad in armor and equipped with a sword and shield joined Airknight Parshath on Joey's side of the field. Ken let out a sigh of relief when the display showed that it only had 2100 attack points.

"Penumbral Soldier Lady, attack his Agent of Judgement Saturn!" Joey called out.

Ken couldn't contain his surprised response, "What are you doing Wheeler? Your monster has fewer attack points than mine!"

"Watch and learn Ken! Penumbral Soldier Lady gets an extra thousand attack points whenever she enters battle with a light monster! I'd say your Agent of Judgement fits the bill pretty well." Joey called back as the display showed Penumbral Soldier Lady's new attack score of 3100. With one determined stroke of her sword the Penumbral Soldier Lady sheared the Agent of Judgments' head clean off its shoulders. In an instant the monster was gone, and Ken's side of the field was left bare.

Joey couldn't keep the happy smile off his face, "Well Ken, it's been a lot of fun, but its over."

Ken's face fell and his arms hung limp at his side, "Yeah, I guess your right. Well then, go ahead and finish it."

"Airknight Parshath attack his life points directly!" With one final swing of its sword Ken's life points plummeted to zero, and the duel disk's holographic projectors dimmed as they turned themselves off.

"Ladies and gentleman your winner in this round one duel Joey Wheeler!" Megan called from the sidelines. The crowd erupted in generous applause and shouting as Joey and Ken approached each other and shook hands vigorously.

"I can't say I'm not disappointed losing in the first round and all." Ken admitted with a sad face. "But I'm glad I was able to play such a great match with you Joey."

"Same here Ken, and hey don't sweat it. You fought a great duel." Joey encouraged him with a smile.

"Thanks Joey. I'll sure feel a lot better if I know I lost to the man who became tournament champion. I'll be rooting for you, don't let me down eh?" Ken asked with a small smile.

"You can bet on it bud." Joey responded with a wink and a thumbs up.

They left the barricaded dueling arena together and Joey was immediately tackled into headlock by Tristan, "Way to go Joey! I can't believe you actually pulled that one out!"

Joey struggled against Tristan's grip as he shot back, "Whaddya men you can't believe it? I had him where I wanted him da whole time!"

"Joey Hun, I'm ecstatic that you won the duel, but do you think could show at least a little modesty?" Mai asked with a hand on her forehead. "I can't stand it when men can't be honest with themselves."

A panicked look crossed Joey's face, "No no! I'm real honest. I thought da guy had me at least half a dozen times! I swear I was petrified dat Kaiba would hear I lost in da first round and never let me hear da end of it!"

Mai lifted an eyebrow while Tea, Tristan, and Yugi had knowing looks on their faces.

Tea decided to change the subject to save Joey any more embarrassment, "C'mon guys we gotta get to the next match. Yugi is up!"

"Me and Joey will catch up with you." Mai answered as she grabbed Joey by the elbow and walked off with him.

"Uh Mai? What's up? Why aren't we going with da others ta watch Yugi's duel?" Joey tried futilely to struggle against her grip but she held him secure.

There were a few questions that Mai wanted to clear up with Joey.

End

Okay folks that's chapter one. A few notes for you. I'm trying to stay true to the rules we're used to on the TV show and whenever that conflicts with the tcg in real life I went with the rules on the show. Some of you might be wondering whether or not the Sanctuary in the Sky card would have protected Ken from direct attacks involving Fairy monsters, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. I tried to write the best duel I could, and put in new cards in Joey's deck since I couldn't exactly recall all of his cards. I thought the cards I added fit with Joey's style and I'd love to hear your opinions on the matter.

So I'm wondering if I should just continue writing duels or try to add in some more serious plot lines like an evil madman with the millennium scale out to capture the souls of powerful duelists. Right now the only thing for sure that I know I want to do is write good duels and try to throw in a good Joey/Mai element which I unfortunately think was the weakest part of the story so far.

So please let me know what you think as far as criticisms or suggestions to plot lines and the story and the next chapter will be Yugi Vs a Dragon Deck with the Envoy of the End as the main monster.

Oh one more thing, the three legendary dragons and god cards won't be in this fic. Don't get me wrong they're awesome, but I think they're too powerful for Yugi Joey and Kaiba to use in what is so far a casual tournament for fun.

So please read and review, and hopefully I can have the next chapter up soon.

Thanks,

Madmanmay


	2. The King of Games and Chaos Emperor Drag...

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TV show or manga, if you think less of me because of that I completely understand.

Well At this point the first chapter has gotten Four reviews. This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! Story so I don't know if that's a statistically good or bad thing, but I was still very flattered by the responses I've gotten. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, and I hope I can continue living up to your expectations. This chapter will feature a dragon deck, and you guys may see some similarities to Kaiba's, but I'm intentionally trying to stay away from cards and dragons that he uses. There certainly won't be any Blue Eyes, XYZ, or virus cards in this deck. I am thinking about using one of his cards, but I think there's another one that does basically the same thing so I might be able to use that instead.

Seeker of the Soul: I'm glad you were impressed with the dueling, it has been a challenge to write, and I completely agree with you that its way too hard to find any fics with good duels out there. Let me know if you come across any eh? I am trying to stay true to the nature of the characters as I understand them, so thanks for the compliment.

Moses the little gurl: I'm updating, I'm updating lol. I'm really glad you like it.

Bellossom Boy: Yeah, I don't know how long this whole friendly tournament arc is gonna last. It really is starting to look like I'm gonna have to spice up the plot a bit. I've been toying with the idea of throwing in a villain that uses the Millennium Scale, but I'm still not quite sure how it could work. I mean the whole stealing souls thing has been in the series since Pegasus, and I'm not sure what I can do but I'm still feeling it out. I do feel that my Joey/Mai stuff has been a little weak, and I hope to do a little better with that in this chapter. I'm really glad you liked the duel, and its possible that Ken and his Fairy deck will be making another appearance in this fic, but I'm still not sure yet.

IloveJoey: Yes I am a guy, lol. Personally, I'm really not into that whole yaoi thing or whatever the blazes they call it. Nothing against anyone who enjoys writing or reading it, just really ain't my thing. I'm glad you liked it, and I hope I can make the Joey/Mai elements in the story stronger than they have been.

Oh, and I went back and noticed that I made some embarrassing typos in the first chapter, I'll try to screen it better this time around. Just to remind you guys as well, there were some cards that I didn't stay 100 true to in the last chapter, I've been practicing some artistic license in that case to make the duels work out like I need them to. For instance you can use Agent of Judgement's effect as many times in a turn as you can bring it back to the field, and trap of board eraser also makes your opponent discard a card to the graveyard. I don't think I've made any serious alterations to the cards, but of course that's entirely up to you guys. Besides they do it on the show all the time, I mean one time Yugi used a DeSpell card during his opponent's turn which is just right out, and in another instance they changed Lava Golem's effect from inflicting 1000 points of damage per turn to 700 per turn. Like I said little stuff, but its just to make the duels go a little smoother, not in any attempt to detract from the actual cards.

One last note, in the duel in this chapter I'll be referring to Yugi/Pharaoh, as Yami just to make my life a little easier. Yugi and the pharaoh will still converse with each other in their mind, but Yami will be making all of the actions.

The first duel of the tournament proved to be a tough challenge for Joey as he went head to head with Ken Shiro and his powerful Fairy monsters, but in the end Joey was able to walk away with a spectacular win. The second duels of the first round are about to begin and this time its Yugi's turn, but he'll be facing a deck full of powerful dragons that he's never even heard of.

Friendly Competition Chapter 2: The King of Games and the Envoy of the End.

"So Yugi, you ready for your duel?" Tea Gardner looked down on Yugi with a smile on her face.

"Sure! Its been so long since I was able to duel without so much pressure on me, I'm gonna have a great time." Yugi answered with a carefree smile on his face.

"Pressure?" Tristan asked from Yugi's left side. "You mean to say that dueling with the fate of the world and the future of humanity riding on your shoulders isn't any fun?"

The three of them shared a little laugh, "It's not even that I mind the pressure that much. But saving the world is nothing like it is on TV. Its just so much work with none of the benefits!" Yugi began, "I mean sure, saving humanity is great and all, but no one even knows about it! Just once it would be nice to get a free dinner, or a game pass. You know just a little something to know that my hard work was appreciated."

Tea laughed, "Hush, Yugi, what would your grandfather say if he heard you talking like that?"

"Ah give him a break Tea." Tristan cut in with a laugh, "I can see where he's coming from."

"Don't worry Tea, I was just joking." Yugi assured her. "The world is a better place because of what we did, and that will always be more than enough for me."

A moment of silence passed before Tristan spoke up, "I wonder what Joey and Mai are up to."

Tea looked over at him with a sad smile on her face, "I still don't think they've worked everything out yet. I lot of bad stuff went down between them recently, stuff that's hard to forget."

Yugi frowned a little bit, "Yeah, but I'm sure that Joey isn't holding a grudge."

"I know he isn't," Tea answered. "But he still has been acting differently around Mai lately, and she's noticed."

"What are you talking about Tea?" Tristan had a confused tone in his voice, "He's been nothing but nice to her."

Tea hesitated a moment before answering, "I haven't talked to Joey about it yet, so I can't be absolutely sure, but I think he blames himself for what happened with Mai. Now he's afraid to do anything that could push her away. He's been acting like he's walking on eggshells whenever he's around her." Tea turned her gaze to the floor in front of her, " She needs him to be her friend again. She misses him I think."

"I don't get what you're trying to say." Tristan admitted. "Joey's probably the best friend she has."

"Exactly. There's more to being someone's friend than being nice to them." Tea tried to explain. "You have to be able to trust each other, and to be comfortable around each other. Joey and Mai both still feel so guilty about what happened," Tea paused for a moment as her voice took on a sad tone, "They're both still so afraid they'll do something to hurt each other again."

Tristan nodded slowly, "I think I'm starting to see where you're coming from with this Tea. You could be right."

"_Wow this is starting to get depressing."_ Yugi admitted. _"I hope that Joey and Mai can work it out."_

"_Don't worry Yugi. They're both strong." _The pharaoh finally added his own opinion to the discussion.

" _Well, you're right about that."_ Yugi answered without much conviction.

"_At any rate, worrying about it now won't do us any good. We have a duel to think about."_ The pharaoh had a smile on his face.

&&&

Mai didn't look back at Joey even once as she lead him by the elbow towards a secluded alcove, with all of the duelists and spectators buzzing about it seemed to be one of the few places available with any degree of privacy.

The silence was absolutely killing Joey, he nervously watched the back of Mai's head as he allowed himself to be towed along. _"I screwed up big." _He lamented to himself miserably. _"I went and made Mai upset again."_

Mai finally halted and let go of Joey's arm, her shoulders were slumped and her gaze downcast. She still didn't turn to face him. A cold feeling settled in Joey's gut and a pained grimace was etched across his face. "Look Mai, I'm sorry…"

She quickly spun to face him and Joey was shocked into silence at the agonized expression on her face, "You're sorry?" Her voice was on the verge of cracking as tears gathered in her eyes. "Damn it Joey, every time we've been alone you've done nothing but apologize."

Joey averted his gaze from her face as his chest clenched tightly, "But Mai," he began softly, "I wasn't a good friend ta you when you needed me the most. You were hurtin so bad, and I didn't even have a clue. I let one of my best friends down."

A tear finally escaped and trailed down Mai's face as she pressed her hand over her chest, "So you really think that everything that happened is your fault? Joey, after Battle City I felt so afraid and alone. But that doesn't excuse the choices that I made." She turned away from him, "I took your soul away from you." More tears were trailing down her face, "I wanted to beat you so badly that I didn't care what the consequences were. How can you ever forgive me for that?"

Mai stiffened in surprise when she felt Joey's hands rest on her shoulders, "You're beating yourself up too much Mai. Dartz took advantage of ya, dat Orichalcos stone of his messed with ya head."

Mai's voice was barely over a whisper, "But I let it happen Joey, even after everything you've done for me, I let the seal take over. You've always been there for me, and I betrayed you."

A wave of heat rushed to Mai's face and she let out a surprised gasp as Joey slipped his hands from her shoulders and held her close against him. "Mai, you make it sound like being friends is a game of give and take, but its not. There isn't a running tally, and I'm not keeping score. The only thing dat matters ta me is being dere for ya when ya need me, no matter what. Ya get me Valentine? Ya can't get rid of Joey Wheeler dat easily."

Mai desperately tightened her hold on Joey and sobbed quietly before she responded, "I don't know what I did to deserve having a friend like you."

"Ya gotta stop putting ya self down Mai. Its time for ya ta forgive yourself." Joey was lightly rubbing his hand up and down her back as he assured her.

More hot tears rolled down her face as she answered, "I don't know if I can."

Joey's eyes squeezed shut and it was hard to breathe for a moment, "Don't say things like dat. Mai you're one of da best people I've ever met, and you deserve ta be happy. Whatever I gotta do ta make dat happen, ya just tell me and its done. I promise I'm not giving up on ya no matter what. You're too important ta me, and I don't ever want to risk losing you again."

"Do you…" Mai hesitated a moment and shifted slightly against him, "Do you think we could stay like this for just a little longer?"

A soft smile graced Joey's face, "As long as you need."

&&&

"Oh look! There's the post where your match will be Yugi." Tea pointed out a much larger dueling station than the one Joey and Ken had used.

"Whoa. Looks like the King of Games has a big crowd." Tristan remarked with a bit of awe in his voice as he took in the multi tiered bleachers that surrounded the dueling stage.

Yugi frowned a little bit, "I don't know if I like this. I should be dueling on the same kind of post as everyone else."

"Ah, lighten up a little Yugi!" Tristan clapped him lightly on the back. "Remember, you're the world champ! You're a celebrity here. You draw a bigger crowd than the average duelist."

Yugi wasn't convinced, "I still don't like it."

"Tristan's right, you should just enjoy yourself. Don't even worry about the crowd and have a good time!" Tea encouraged him with a smile.

Yugi's frown finally broke into a smile, "You're probably right Tea. Okay guys, wish me luck!" Yugi waved as he made his way towards the tournament official waiting for him.

"Yeah right, like you'll actually need it!" Tristan shot back with a laugh.

"Show em how its done Yug!" Tea added with a vigorous wave.

Yugi approached a tall man wearing a full three piece suit, "Mr. Moto, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Mr. Yoshida, and I'm one of the senior tournament officials. I'll be overseeing this duel."

"Pleased to meet you." Yugi shook his hand with a smile.

"Your opponent for this match will be Draco Zelen, he's the young man right over there." He was at least a head taller than Yugi, his hair was a deep rust red that was slicked back, and his eyes were green. He wore a chain around his neck over his long sleeved black shirt that held an amulet with a roaring dragon etched into its metallic surface. He also wore a dark green vest that matched his slacks.

"I'll just go introduce myself before we get started." Yugi explained as he walked over to Draco. "I'm Yugi Moto." Yugi offered his hand.

Draco had a lazy grin on his face as he accepted the handshake, "The name's Draco. I gotta say, it was quite a shock to hear that my first opponent was the King of Games."

"I don't really pay much attention to titles and things like that, I'm just here to have a good time." Yugi put his hands in pockets.

"Well I'm here to win." Draco answered, "So I'll apologize in advance for taking you out in the first round. I'd much rather be facing you in the finals." Before Yugi even had a chance to answer, Draco turned on his heel and walked away.

"_Well he's a pleasant guy."_ Yugi remarked with his eyebrow raised.

"_I wonder…"_ The pharaoh began, _"He certainly is confident in his ability to win. But at any rate we should get this duel started."_

"_Right"_ Yugi agreed as the millennium puzzle around his neck flashed with a bright light. When he opened his eyes his features had matured, and he grew in height, the pharaoh had taken over. He calmly assumed his place opposite Draco and placed his deck inside his duel disk.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are very proud to present this round one duel between Draco Zelen, and the King of Games Yugi Moto!" The assembled crowd announced their approval with a deafening roar of applause and cheers. There were easily hundreds of excited spectators occupying the stands. "Gentlemen!" The official continued, "Whenever you're ready."

In perfect unison two duel disks snapped into place, both displaying 4000 life points as the Pharaoh and Draco shouted, "Its time to Duel!"

"I'll take my turn first." Draco announced as he drew his first six cards with practiced ease. He reviewed his cards silently for a moment before looking up at the pharaoh, "I summon Cave Dragon in attack mode." Draco's duel disk hummed for a moment as it generated the image of a massive green Dragon with its head low to the ground. The creature let out a derisive snort as its 2000 attack points were displayed.

Yami's gaze hardened slightly, _"This isn't good, its only the first turn of the duel and he already has a powerful monster on the field."_

Draco smiled as he noticed Yami's expression, "Don't get too excited just yet. Cave Dragon is impressive but he won't be able to attack unless I have another dragon type monster on the field, so you're safe for now. Before I let you take your turn I'll place two cards face down on the field." By the time he finished speaking his two cards were already on the field in front of him. "That's all for now."

"Very well, my move." Yami answered as he drew his sixth card from his deck. _"Well, it doesn't look like we can go on the offensive just yet." _The pharaoh mused as he looked over their hand. _"But we can put up an effective defense."_ "I'll place two cards face down on the field." Yami slid the cards into place as he continued, "Then summon a monster in defense mode." By the time the duel disk stopped humming two cards were at Yami's feet and a third one was placed horizontally in from of them. "I end my turn."

Draco shook his head as he drew his card, "Disappointing. I expected much more of a fight."

Neither Yugi nor the pharaoh rose to Draco's bait and calmly waited for him to continue his turn.

"No matter, if you don't want to go on the offensive I'll happily take the fight directly to you." Draco calmly placed a monster card on his duel disk and after a shimmer of light a beast with a long and narrow body covered with leaping flames appeared on the field. The monster let out a vicious hiss as flames leapt from its jaws, the display read 1500 attack points. "I'd like to introduce you to my Solar Flare Dragon."

"I'm not impressed." Yami called back.

Draco let off a few laughs before he continued, "You'll be changing your tune soon enough. My two dragons are going to rip into your life points!"

An amused smile finally graced Yami's face, "You're welcome to try any time."

"What, do you think your two face down cards can protect you? Sorry King of Games," Draco sneered with contempt, "But you're very wrong. I activate Stamping Destruction and Serial Spell!" Draco placed two cards from his hand into his duel disk and with a flash of light they appeared face up on the field. "With Stamping Destruction active, as long as I have a dragon type monster on the field I can destroy any magic or trap card you've played!" Cave Dragon lifted one of its massive legs into the air and let it crash back onto the field with the force of a pile driver.

Yugi watched in horror as one of his face down cards appeared to crack, then he let out a surprised grunt and covered his face as the card shattered, spraying him with the fragments. _"This isn't good! His magic card just destroyed our Mirror Force!" _Yugi cried out.

"But the fun doesn't stop there." Draco continued, "Because not only does Stamping Destruction destroy one of your magic or trap cards, it also deals 500 points of damage directly to your life points!"

"What?" The pharaoh exclaimed in shock as he looked down at his duel disk, which flashed for a moment before settling on 3500.

"That's not all I'm afraid." Draco lifted a finger to point at his other magic card which depicted a sorcerer lifting his arm to channel a magical force, "My Serial Spell magic card requires me to discard my hand,". Draco placed the last card from his hand into his graveyard, "But its well worth the cost. After all it allows me to copy any normal magic card I've played."

Yami's eyes widened for a moment before he let out a small breath.

Draco laughed, "I can see you've guessed which magic card I'm going to copy. Cave Dragon!" Draco shouted, "Destroy his other face down card with Stamping Destruction!" With a deep roar Cave Dragon lifted it's leg and once again let is smash down to the ground.

Yami winced and let out a grunt as his other face down card shattered before him, leaving behind a large cloud of smoke. His duel disk quickly dropped down to reveal 3000 life points. "You're magic cards may have cost me 1000 of my life points." Yami admitted as he looked back up at Draco, "But its going to cost you much more than you originally thought!"

"Please!" Draco waved him off while shaking his head. "Don't embarrass yourself, you're face down cards are both toast! All you have is a monster to protect your life points, and my Cave Dragon will be taking care of it in just a moment."

"Wrong." Yami shot back with a knowing smile on his face. "Just look!" With a wave of his arm Yami indicated the rising column of smoke where his face down card was.

"What, is my Cave Dragon going to choke to death on your dust?" Draco laughed out loud.

"No, its going to choke on my Dark Coffin trap card!" Yami shouted as the smoke finally cleared to reveal a beautiful sarcophagus encrusted with jewels and brilliantly shining gold.

Draco's smile quickly drained from his face as an ominous creaking noise began emanating from the sarcophagus. His shock only lasted a moment before he challenged Yami with a hot rage, "What kind of trick is this? My magic card destroyed your trap!"

"Exactly." Yami wore a pleased expression as he crossed his arms. "My Dark Coffin trap card is automatically activated when my opponent destroys it. Normally you would have a choice between discarding a card from your hand, or losing a monster, but since you have no cards in your hand my trap card will destroy Cave Dragon!" Yami announced as he lifted a finger to point at the green beast. The top of the sarcophagus flew off with frightening speed and a dark spirit with green eyes and a red smile emerged. The specter dove into Cave Dragon, the monster began shaking its head as if in pain, then let out a roar as it finally shattered.

Draco let out a growl as his jaw clenched tightly. "Don't look so pleased with yourself. I've already taken a fourth of your life points, and now you have no cards in play that can protect your monster!" Draco lifted a finger to point at Yami's last card, "Solar Flare Dragon, attack his monster, Molten Flare!" With a savage roar Draco's monster reared back and let loose a furious spray of fire at Yami's monster.

"I hardly need any trap cards to protect my monster Draco," Yami explained with a serious expression on his face. "After all your Solar Flare Dragon is too weak to destroy Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" The card before Yami flipped over to reveal a metal warrior holding a sword and shield, the display showed 1700 defense points. Yami's monster lifted its shield to catch the full force of Solar Flare Dragon's attack. The shield began to glow with an awesome white light for a moment, but the attack died out without causing any damage.

Draco's eyes narrowed as his duel disk shifted his life point score to 3800.

"What's the matter Draco?" Yami asked. "I thought you said you wanted me to put up more of a fight."

"_Snide bastard,"_ Draco silently remarked. "Before I end my turn I'll activate one of my face down cards, Super Rejuvenation." With the touch of a button Draco's card revealed itself, it bore the picture of a Cave Dragon looking down at its injured leg. "When my turn ends this magic card will allow me to draw cards equal to the number of dragon monsters that were sent to the graveyard during this turn. Since I end my turn that means I can draw two cards." Draco ran his finger along his deck and drew his two cards at once.

"Two cards? But only one of your dragons was sent to the graveyard." Yami protested.

"Wrong." Draco replied, "When I played my Serial Spell card I discarded a dragon known as Gray Wing to the graveyard as well. But that isn't what you should be worried about."

"What are you talking about?" Yami asked.

"My Solar Flare Dragon has a special ability, whenever its on the field when I end my turn my opponent automatically looses 500 life points!"

Yami's eyes narrowed slightly and he let out a frustrated sound as Solar Flare Dragon hissed. The monster's flame attack completely bypassed Yami's monster and slammed into him directly. He let out a pained grunt as his duel disk shifted his life point counter to 2500.

"Well now King of Games," Draco began with an air of superiority in his voice, "In only one turn I've almost taken half your life points from you, and all you've managed to do was destroy one of my dragons."

Yami's eyes narrowed slightly as he responded, "I offer you fair warning Draco, you underestimate me at your own peril. This duel is far from over."

"Heh," Draco smiled, "Trust me, I'm not underestimating anyone. You have no idea of the power that my dragons' possess. You thought that my Cave Dragon was impressive? That monster was child's play compared to what's still in store for you."

Yami didn't back down, "I've already faced and defeated the most powerful dragons in all of duel monsters, and I know for a fact that you don't carry any of them in your deck."

Draco burst out into a fit of mocking laughter that completely surprised Yami. "You're referring to Kaiba and his Blue-Eyes White Dragons?" Draco finally calmed himself, but his green eyes seemed to shine with glee, "I promise you Yugi, before this duel is over you'll be facing beasts that make the Blue-Eyes Dragons completely obsolete!"

"You can't be telling the truth." Yami challenged.

"Well why don't we continue this duel so you can find out for sure?" Draco answered back.

"Very well." Yami drew his card and smiled, "First I'll summon Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" A figure draped in dark robes and crowned in a large dark hood appeared on the field brandishing a short staff, the display read 1900 attack points. "Then I'll activate Array of Revealing Light!" The slot at the end of Yami's duel disk opened as he deposited a card with in. In moments a large circle of light with an intricate pattern of symbols and runes decorated the duel arena between Draco and Yami.

"As long as this field magic card is in play your Dragons won't be able to attack during the turn they are summoned to the field!" Yami announced with a large smile on his face.

"What's the matter Yugi?" Draco laughed, "Ready to admit that you can't beat my dragons?"

"Hardly," Yami replied. "But this card will give me a turn to prepare myself for whatever powers you boasted your dragons possess. Now then, since Skilled Dark Magician is on the field and I've activated a magic card it receives one spell counter."

"Good for him." Was Draco's sarcastic reply.

Yami's eye twitched slightly in annoyance, _"You won't be so nonchalant about my Skilled Dark Magician when he receives three spell counters."_

"_Don't let him get to you."_ Yami looked over his shoulder at a translucent image of Yugi, _"He's just trying to get us off balance. We're bigger than his taunts, we'll let our cards show him how wrong he is!"_

Yami smiled, _"You're right."_ "I'll switch Alpha the Magnet Warrior into attack mode!" Yami shifted the card on his duel disk and his Magnet Warrior stood to its full height and displayed 1400 attack points. "Now, Skilled Dark Magician attack his Solar Flare Dragon, Dark Spell wave!" Skilled Dark Magician wore a frown on its face as it lifted its staff and pointed it towards Draco's monster. A sphere of black energy gathered at its base before billowing out in a massive wave of power.

Draco shielded his eyes from the explosion as his Solar Flare Dragon disappeared from the field, his duel disk shifted to 3400 life points.

"Now, Alpha the Magnet Warrior, attack his life points directly!" On Yami's command

his monster's sword began to glow with a white light, the monster sprang forward and drew its blade back ready to strike.

"Sorry Yugi, but I activate True Loyalty!" Draco pushed the appropriate button on his duel disk to raise his final face down card up. The purple rimmed card bore the image of a dragon rising up from a burial mound roaring a challenge into the sky. As Alpha the Magnet Warrior approached Draco's side of the field, his graveyard flashed with an angry light and suddenly a translucent image of his Cave Dragon reappeared.

"What?" Yami cried out in surprise as the Cave Dragon moved to intercept his Magnet Warrior. With a single sweep of the blade Cave Dragon let out a pained roar as its image softly faded from view once more. Alpha the Magnet Warrior retreated back to Yami's side of the field.

Draco had his arms folded as he regarded Yami, "Once you earn a dragon's loyalty you can call upon it to aid you even after death. As long as my True Loyalty trap card is in play I can bring the dragons in my graveyard back to the field to protect my life points from direct attacks. The only drawback is that they have no defense points and once they are defeated a second time they are removed from play."

"So as long as you have dragons in your graveyard I won't be able to attack your life points directly, very clever." Yami reluctantly admitted.

"Thank you." Draco smiled back. "Now is that all, or are you going to be making any other moves?"

Yami looked over his hand for a moment before addressing Draco, "I'll place one card face down on the field." The card flashed into existence at Yami's feet. "Your move."

"Excellent," Draco drew a card from his deck. "Now I think its time I finally introduced you to one of my most powerful dragons."

"Well, go on then." Yami answered.

"Very well," Draco slid a monster card onto his duel disk. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 4 in attack mode!" After the flash of light faded a golden dragon spread its wings and let out a challenging shriek as its 1600 attack points were displayed.

Yami was very wary of the creature, _"He can't be talking about its attack rating, what is he up to?" _

"_It must have a special ability that he's hiding from us." _Yugi suggested.

"What do you think? Impressive right?" Draco asked with an amused grin on his face.

"Not terribly." Yami admitted, "But looks can be deceiving."

"Very true." Draco answered. "But the fact of the matter is that the Black Flame Dragon level 4 is only the youngest form of my great monster. It needs a little help to achieve its true power, and I happen to have that help right here in my hand." Draco slid a green card into place in his duel disk, "I activate Level Up!" Draco's dragon was suddenly bathed in a brilliant golden glow as his magic card flashed onto the field. "Level Up! Allows me draw out an even more powerful form of my dragon, say hello to Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 6!"

By the time the light faded Yami and Yugi were facing down a dragon that was at least twice the size of the previous one. It's features were hardened, its wing span was much larger, and its eyes were glowing with a violent ruby red light. It flapped its wings once and let out a roar that echoed painfully in the ears of Yami and the audience as its attack score was displayed.

"2300 attack points?" Yami asked with dread in his voice as he beheld the foe before him.

"Now you're beginning to understand." Draco observed with an evil grin on his face. "My Horus the Black Flame dragon is far more powerful than any mere Blue-Eyes."

Yami's gaze hardened as he shot back, "The Blue-Eyes white Dragons have 3000 attack points, your beast comes no where close to that power!"

Draco let out another laugh, "I already told you, my dragon just has a little growing up to do. After it absorbs the life force from one of your monsters its ultimate power will be unleashed. Then your life points, and this duel will be mine!" Draco lifted his arm to point at Yami's Magnet warrior, "Now my dragon, attack his Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Black Flame!"

"Have you forgotten about my Array of Revealing light Draco?" Yami asked. "Your dragon was summoned this turn so it can't attack!" Yami confidently announced.

"Wrong." Draco replied, "My dragon is completely impervious to magic cards, just watch!"

Draco's dragon lifted itself into the air with one sweep of its wings even as Yami took an unconscious step back, _"Oh no, if that dragon destroys our Magnet Warrior we'll lose 900 life points!" _

With a shrill cry a pillar of black fire erupted from deep within Draco's dragon ready to completely annihilate Yami's monster.

"_We've got to do something!" _Yugi cried out in alarm.

"_And do something we will!"_ The pharaoh promised as he pressed a button on his duel disk. "Activate Magic Cylinder!" Yami's face down card sprung into action and quickly spawned two holographic cylinders on the field. "As long as I have a spellcaster monster on the field, this trap card redirects your monsters' attack right back at you!" Yami explained.

Draco looked on with dread as Yami's Skilled Dark Magician began spinning its staff between its fingers. "Go Skilled Dark Magician!" Yami commanded with a sweep of his arm, "Intercept his dragon's attack and send it right back at his life points!" Yami's monster brandished its staff towards Draco as the first of the cylinders captured the black fire of Horus. With a flash of light the second cylinder sent the attack right at Draco.

"Since your monster has 2300 attack points, that total will be taken directly from your life points!" Yami exclaimed.

"Not this time!" Draco called back, "Or have you forgotten about my True Loyalty trap card?" Draco's graveyard emitted yet another bright glow as the translucent image of a small dragon with insect wings appeared on the field. "Go Gray Wing, defend my life points!" A terrible explosion rocked the field as Horus's attack finally met a target, but when the smoke cleared Draco's life points remained at 3400.

Yami let out a small-frustrated growl as his fists tightly clenched, _"We were able to protect our monsters, and our life points, but we still couldn't do any significant damage to Draco!" _

"This is starting to get interesting." Draco crossed his arms, "You prevented me from destroying one of your monsters and unleashing Horus's true power, but next turn one of your monsters will fall to his Black Flame! I'll place one card face down on the field and end my turn!"

Yami drew his card and reviewed his hand. _"Perfect! We'll destroy his dragon before it has the chance to evolve into its true form!" _"First I'll play my Pot of Greed magic card to draw two more cards from my deck!" Yami drew his cards with a flourish. "And since I've played a magic card my Skilled Dark Magician receives another spell counter!"

"That's the second time you've gone on about spell counters, are those things supposed to intimidate me?" Draco asked with an arrogant leer to his voice.

"They should." Yami answered with an amused grin on his face. "After all since Skilled Dark Magician has received three spell counters he will have achieved the key to unlocking his true potential and become Dark Magician, observe!" A brilliant glow overtook Yami's monster as it began to grow in height.

A nervous bead of sweat ran down Draco's forehead, "But you've only played two magic cards since Skilled Dark Magician has been in play! You don't have enough spell counters to activate its special ability!"

Before Yami responded his Dark Magician finally appeared and proudly displayed 2500 attack points as it faced down Horus the Black Flame Dragon. "I have you to thank for unlocking Skilled Dark Magicians' true potential Draco. After all your Level Up! Magic card provided the final spell counter I needed to summon one of my most powerful monsters!" Yami lifted his arm to point at Draco's Dragon, "Now Dark Magician, destroy his Dragon, Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician lifted its staff and a wave of dark power gathered at its tip, with an indifferent look on its face Dark Magician unleashed its power. Draco's dragon roared out a challenge as the attack closed in but before it could strike Draco intervened, "I won't let you destroy my dragon so easily! I activate Astral Barrier!" Draco's face down card was revealed depicting a blue spirit leaping in front of a cowering monster. "This trap card allows me to redirect your monster's attack away from my dragon to a new target, me!"

"You would really sacrifice 2500 life points to protect your monster?" Yami's expression was incredulous as Draco's trap card sprung into action.

A blue spirit leapt from Draco's trap card and intercepted Dark Magicians attack, the magic gathered within the spirit for a moment before blasting off at a new target, Draco himself. "Fortunately I won't have to, thanks to my True Loyalty trap card!" For a third time the spirit of one of Draco's Dragons', in this instance his Solar Flare Dragon, was brought back to field to absorb the damage from Dark Magician's attack. A massive explosion wracked the field and Yami covered his eyes as vicious winds whipped past him. However when he looked back up at Draco his life points were completely unscathed.

"Your attack has failed, and my Dragon will feast on the life force of one of your monsters next turn!" Draco laughed gently for a moment, "Prepare yourself for defeat!"

Yami's upper life quivered in frustration for a moment before he answered in a dark tone, "You may have halted my attack, but I assure you that you are no where near close to defeating me!"

"Well then go ahead and end your turn so I can prove how wrong you are!" Draco challenged.

"Before I end my turn I'll place a card face down on the field and switch Alpha the Magnet Warrior into defense mode." Yami responded as his card flashed into existence before him.

Draco drew a card from his deck and immediately slapped it on to his duel disk, "I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode!" After a brief flash of light a new dragon appeared on the field. This beast had four claws arrayed along its long and narrow body, and it was capped with blue hair that flowed down its back. "My newest Dragon has 1600 attack points." Draco informed Yami with a smile on his face.

"Neither of your dragons have enough power to defeat my Dark Magician!" Yami called back.

Draco smiled, "Not yet at least, but your Dark Magician isn't my target! Horus the Black Flame Dragon, attack his Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Black Flame!" Once again Draco's great dragon reared back and opened its jaws with a mighty cry.

"Not so fast Draco! Reveal Trap Card!" Yami pressed the appropriate button on his duel disk…and nothing happened. "What? How can this be?" Yami cried out in shock as he looked down at his duel disk in amazement. Draco's monster finally unleashed its black flames that completely engulfed Yami's Magnet Warrior. In mere moments Yami's monster had completely melted away, leaving nothing but a puddle of sizzling metal, until that too vanished. "That should not have happened! My duel disk must be broken!" Yami protested as he looked back up at Draco.

"There's nothing wrong with your duel disk Yugi. Just take a look at my Mirage Dragon!" Draco waved his hand to indicate his dragon, which was letting off a bright amber glow from its eyes as it stared at Yami's side of the field.

Yami's gaze hardened as he finally realized, _"His Mirage Dragon must have a special ability."_

"As long as my Mirage Dragon is on the field," Draco explained as he lifted his finger to point at Yami, "Then you won't be able to activate any trap cards when I declare my attacks! But trust me, you have much bigger problems to worry about than my Mirage Dragon. Even as we speak Horus is absorbing the life force from your Magnet Warrior, preparing itself for its final evolution!" Waves of energy were emanating from the spot on the field where Yami's monster was, and traveling towards Horus. The Dragon opened its jaws to greedily consume the energy and its eyes began spilling an awesome ruby light.

"_This can't be good!" _Yugi cried out.

"_Don't worry, whatever new form his beast assumes we WILL defeat it!" _Yami promised

as he looked up at Draco's dragon with a determined expression on his face.

A strong wind suddenly kicked up as Horus let out an angry roar, eddies and small whirlwinds were gathering around it and streaks of energy were flying around the field. Draco raised his voice to be heard over the massive din and spread his arms wide and threw his head back, "I end my turn, now arise Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 8!"

A great pillar of light erupted from the field, completely encircling Draco's Dragon and leaping up into the sky, obscuring it from view. Yami suddenly had to fight the urge to cover his ears as a soul-shattering shriek completely permeated the playing field. None of the audience had the strength of will to help themselves as they turned from the scene and covered their ears.

Finally the pillar of light expanded outwards rapidly, completely filling the field with a blinding glare. After a few moments the light died down and Yami was able to open his eyes to gaze upon a terrifying monstrosity. Draco's dragon towered over the playing field, its wing span reached over the bleachers and stands, covering them in a deep shadow, its red eyes sent a piercing gaze down upon Yami and he shuddered uncontrollable for a moment as his hands began trembling.

"You rightly stand in awe before my great Dragon, behold its power!" Draco shouted as 3000 attack points flashed onto the field. "Whats the matter King of Games?" Draco asked, "Why don't you draw your card! Go ahead and make your move so my Dragon can finish you off!"

Yami finally shook himself from his stupor, "Your Dragon is impressive, but I _will_ defeat it. In my time I've faced and defeated great beasts beyond compare," Images of the Egyptian God cards, and the Great Leviathan flashed inside Yami's mind, "and this duel will be no different!" Yami finally drew his card and reviewed his hand, trying to calm his frayed nerves, Draco's dragon's very presence was simply unnerving.

"_What are we going to do? We don't have any cards in our hand that can defeat his dragon!" _Yugi pointed out.

"_We won't be able to destroy it yet, but we can stall him long enough to summon a monster powerful enough to aid us."_ Yami responded as he placed a card into his duel disk. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light! Your dragons won't be able to attack for three turns!"

Draco smiled as five great swords of light crashed down onto the field from the sky, completely surrounding his dragons. "Nice try, but completely futile none the less." Horus the Black Flame dragon actually seemed to let out a derisive snort as it gazed down upon the swords. Then it let out a bright light from its eyes, and completely annihilated all of them.

"What?" was Yami's shocked response.

"There is more to my newest dragon than just additional attack points." Draco explained, "His special ability has grown in strength as well. As long as I have him on the field I can completely negate and destroy any of your magic cards that I want! So while I'm at it, he'll also destroy your Array of Revealing Light!"

"No!"

"Afraid so." Draco called back as his dragon annihilated Yami's field magic card. "Do you get it now? You're finished, its over!" Draco shouted with glee.

"I won't be throwing in the towel so easily Draco! Dark Magician, attack his Mirage Dragon, Dark Magic Attack!" Yami's monster spun its staff for a moment before unleashing a massive energy blast at Draco's smaller dragon. With an agonized roar the beast shattered and Draco winced as his life points dropped to 2500.

"That was rather foolish." Draco stated with a dark edge to his voice, "If you switched your Dark Magician to defense mode you might've been able to protect your life points for a little longer. Now when your turn ends my Dragon will unleash its rage."

"Well then I'd hate to keep it waiting. I end my turn." Yami answered back.

Draco drew his card and once again immediately placed it on his duel disk. "I'll summon Komouri Dragon in attack mode." The black dragon flashed onto the field, it had 1500 attack points. "I realize it's a bit anti-climatic compared to my Black Flame Dragon, but once your Dark Magician is gone it'll still be able to take most of your remaining life points! Now, Horus the Black Flame Dragon, destroy his Dark Magician!" Upon Draco's command a massive sphere of pitch-black energy began gathering at his Dragon's jaw. The sphere seemed to be stealing the very light from the sky as the entire area was darkened in shadow.

Yami took a nervous step backwards but still pressed his duel disk, "Now that your Mirage Dragon is gone, there's nothing stopping me from playing my Magical Hats!" The trap card flipped up and quickly covered Yami's Dark Magician in a large top hat with a question mark on it. In an instant three more hats materialized on the field.

Draco's eye twitched in annoyance, "Do you honestly think that your little parlor tricks will save you?"

"There's one way to find out, go ahead and pick a hat." Yami replied.

"This is demeaning, but I suppose I don't have a choice. Horus attack the hat on the far left!" Draco's dragon finally unleashed its dark power, and its explosive forced shook the very ground beneath Yami's feet, but when the smoke cleared there was nothing there. His Dark Magician was still safe. Draco let out a frustrated snort, _"I could attack with Komouri dragon as well, but if I pick the right hat It'll cost me 1000 life points. But then his magician would be exposed and Horus will be able to finish it off next turn."_

"What's taking so long? Are you going to end your turn or not?" Yami asked.

"No, Komouri Dragon, attack the middle hat!" Draco commanded. A much less impressive attack struck the hat and when the smoke cleared Yami's Dark Magician was revealed.

"That was a costly mistake!" Yami announced, "Dark Magician, counter attack with Dark Magic Attack!" Yami's monster aimed its staff carefully before a wave of power emanated from it. Draco's monster seemed to freeze for a moment before shattering. Once again Draco's life points shifted this time settling on 1500.

Draco was actually smiling, "It may have cost me some life points, but your Magician is exposed. You won't be able to hide it from my Dragon any longer! Go ahead and take your turn!"

"_Draco's right, we still don't have anything strong enough to defeat his Dragon."_ Yugi's voice was laced with worry and concern.

"_Have faith Yugi, our deck won't fail us."_ Yami answered as he closed his eyes and reached for his cards. As he pulled his card he completely extended his arm from his body before brining it before his gaze. He stared at it for a moment before looking up at Draco.

"What's the matter Yugi? Didn't get a good draw?" Draco taunted.

"I'll place one card on the field and end my turn." Was Yami's cool response.

Draco looked completely puzzled, "Without switching your Dark Magician to defense mode?" Draco picked his card from his deck, _"That doesn't make any sense, why wouldn't he switch his monster to defense mode? He did play a card face down on the field, does he really think it can help him?" _

"What's wrong Draco? Why are you hesitating? I thought your Dragon was unbeatable." Yami folded his arms across his chest.

Draco frowned in concentration, _"Is he trying to bait me into attacking? Or is he bluffing?"_ Draco tried to read his opponent's expression, but Yami's face was an indifferent mask. Draco's dragon let out a roar, venting its frustration as it awaited a command to annihilate the foe challenging it. "Well it seems that my dragon is eager to finish your Magician off."

Yami said nothing as he continued to stare coldly at Draco.

A cold sensation began spreading in Draco's stomach and nervous sweat was beginning to collect on his forehead, _"This is ridiculous! Why am I hesitating? My Dragon has more than enough attack points to finish his magician off! Why won't that bastard blink?"_ Draco's hands began shaking and as he looked down at them he growled in frustration, "I won't let you intimidate me King of Games! Go Horus, attack his Dark Magician!"

Yami finally broke the indifferent mask covering his face as a small smile spread across his features.

Draco actually took a nervous step backwards even as his great Dragon once again gathered its power, preparing to strike. _"What is he smiling about?" _

Yami answered as if he had read Draco's mind, "I wasn't bluffing. Reveal Spellbinding Circle!" As Yami's trap card lifted itself to the field a great circle of green light covered in runes and sigils sprang onto the field.

Horus finally unleashed its attack, and its dark flame rushed towards Yami's monster with reckless abandon. "My Spellbinding circle will halt your dragon's attack and cut its attack power by 700 points!" The green circle interposed itself between the combatant monsters and easily caught Horus' dark flames on its surface. For a moment it seemed that the flames were in danger of spilling around the edges of the circle, but with a fierce green glow it rushed towards Draco's Dragon, pushing the attack back with great speed.

"No!" Draco protested with a hoarse shout as the circle settled itself around Horus. The great dragon uttered a pained sound and shuddered violently as its attack score plummeted to 2300.

"Now my Dark Magician is strong enough to destroy your Dragon!" Yami declared.

Draco bitterly replied, "I end my turn."

Yami quickly drew his card and smiled down on it. "Go Dark Magician, bring his Dragon down, Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician lifted its staff and gathered its power. Draco was completely knocked off his feet as his Dragon detonated, throwing off massive shock waves of power. Draco let out an agonized grunt as he lifted himself off his back, he opened one eye in time to watch his life points drop to 1300.

Draco slowly made his way to his feet, "You're going to pay for that. I promise you you'll pay."

"I doubt it. After all its still my turn, and I have more cards to play!" Yami answered as he placed a card in his duel disk. "Since your Dragon is no longer in play I can play my Emblem of Dragon Destroyer magic card!" The magic card unleashed a sigil carved with gold and jewels surrounded by flames. The emblem shrunk in size as it moved to rest over Yami's deck. "This magic card allows me to bring a powerful warrior to my hand." Yami extracted his deck and spread it out in his hand before selecting the appropriate card. He quickly reshuffled and slapped his deck back in place. "Now then, since my Buster Blader rests in my hand I can create a monster that will end this duel! I activate Polymerization!"

A vortex appeared on the field as holographic representations of Yami's Dark Magician, Buster Blader, and Polymerization cards appeared high above him. A streak of lightning crashed upon the field from the sky and revealed Yami's newest monster. Its robes were similar to Dark Magicians', but were a deep green color that matched its skin. Twin black streaks ran down the monster's face and it let out a deep cry as it brought its massive sword to bear, 2900 attack points flashed onto the field.

Draco was completely silent as he stared up at the monster with a terrified expression on his face.

"Allow me to introduce you to my Dark Paladin! This monster combines the Arcane knowledge of my Dark Magician, with the Dragon Slaying power of Buster Blader! For every single Dragon monster in play my creature gains an additional 500 attack points!" Yami called out as Dark Paladins' attack power shifted to rest at 4400 attack points.

"No, I was so close." Draco lamented to himself as his gaze fell to the floor.

"There isn't a Dragon in all of Duel Monsters that can defeat my Dark Paladin!" Yami announced.

A fire was lit in Draco's eyes as his head snapped back up to Yami, "You're wrong!"

Yami was surprised at the conviction in Draco's voice. "What are you talking about? With Dark Paladin's special ability not even Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon can match its power."

"You can't even conceive the power that my final Dragon possesses. With its strength I'll completely turn this duel around." Draco looked down at his deck, _"But I have to draw it this turn or I'm finished!" _

"_Could he really be telling the truth?"_ Yugi asked.

"_We'll find out soon enough."_ Yami answered. "Since I've already passed my battle phase for this turn I'll let you make your move."

"_Please, come to me. Let me unleash your power and defeat my enemy!" _Draco silently prayed as he drew his card. A moment passed in silence before an energetic laugh began bubbling up from Draco's throat. He looked up at Yami and laughed out loud. "Now you'll see, you'll finally be able to understand the full fury of my decks' power!"

"First I'll summon Luster Dragon #1 in attack mode!" Draco announced as he slapped his card onto his duel disk with renewed enthusiasm. A small dragon, not much larger than Draco himself appeared on the field. Its hide was blue and red, and two wings sprung out from its back. 1900 attack points were displayed. "Then I'll activate the Magic Card Dimension Hole!"

"_I don't like this, maybe we should discard a card to activate Dark Paladin's special ability." _Yugi was worried.

"_I can't see how his magic card can hurt us. It actually removes his monster from play."_ Yami answered.

A black circle appeared on the field and quickly rotated around Draco's dragon, as soon as it completed its third rotation the monster was gone from sight. "Now then, its time."

"Time for what?" Yami asked in a guarded tone.

"Its time for you to learn the true meaning of power," Draco smiled.

An ominous wind suddenly picked up in the arena, and a shudder ran along Yami's spine. _"What is this dark energy I'm sensing. Its like nothing I've ever felt before!" _

"In order to bring forth my greatest Dragon I must first offer a light monster and a dark monster as tribute!"

"But you have no light or dark monsters on the field to sacrifice!" Yami pointed out in protest.

"True enough, but unfortunately for you I have the monsters I need in my graveyard, observe!" Two translucent images appeared on the field. Mirage Dragon and Komouri Dragon let out a final challenge in unison as they faded into globes of dark and light power. The specters began spiraling around one another before shooting off into the air with blinding speed. The moment the energies collided the dark feeling that Yami had sensed exploded with such ferocity that he barely managed to force his shaking body to stay on its feet.

"_What on earth is this force?"_ Yami was awestruck as a portal opened above Draco, even his Dark Paladin seemed to be unnerved.

&&&

At last Mai gently pulled back from Joey's embrace and looked him in the eye.

He smiled down at her, "All better now?" He asked.

Mai offered him a small smile as a reward as she gently squeezed his shoulders, "Not yet, but I think I'm getting there."

"I'm glad ta hear it." Joey answered. The tranquil and calm atmosphere that the two had encased themselves in was suddenly disrupted when a large gust of cold wind blew past them. "What da heck was dat?" Joey asked in surprise as he shivered slightly.

"Look over there!" Mai pointed out to a dark shape high in the air over the main dueling arena.

"I don't like da looks a dis. Wasn't dat the direction dat Yugi, Tea, and Tristan went?" Joey asked as his smile slipped from his face.

"I think so, we'd better get moving." Mai prodded as she and Joey started to quickly make their way over to the arena.

"_I hope Yug's okay."_ Joey silently remarked.

&&&

"I CALL FORTH CHAOS EMPEROR DRAGON-ENVOY OF THE END!" Draco roared at the top of his lungs his eyes wide, his pupils almost nonexistent his arms stretched out above him reaching for the sky.

For a moment it seemed to Yami that time itself cowered in fear at the dark force emanating from the portal. The wind died, and there was total soul shearing silence as if the world itself was holding its breath. The audience didn't move, didn't utter a single sound, life ground to a halt…but then total Chaos was unleashed.

The sheer violence of the winds ripping throughout the arena completely drowned out any chance Yami had of hearing his friends' concerned voices, his clothes and hair were billowing in random directions as the air was violently displaced. From the portal itself a dazzling array of lights of all colors was flashing ominously as an absolutely stunning monster lowered itself to the field. Where its hide wasn't green, armor shimmering with fantastic colors protected the beast. Its head was completely encased in the same way, crowned with flame red hair and eyes that peered directly through Yami's flesh to stab his soul with terror and panic.

"_I can't stop shaking!" _Yami's eyes were wide, _"Such terrible power!_".

When the Dragon opened its jaws the roar that was emitted shook the earth and tore the air. Yami dug his toes into the ground and was still pushed back several feet. The air finally settled, but the crowd was still completely enraptured in the Dragon's terrifying spell. 3000 attack points appeared before Yami's eyes as he continued to gaze at the beast.

&&&

Joey and Mai arrived just in time to watch in awe as Draco's monster settled itself on the field. They were both as completely dumbstruck as the rest of the audience was, unable to tear their gazes away from the great dragon.

Joey managed to find his voice first, and it quivered slightly as he remarked, "I'm glad I'm not facing dat thing!"

"Joey, Mai over here!" Tea's voice called out to them.

Joey and Mai quickly joined Tristan and Tea at the edge of the Arena, "Tea, what in the world is that thing?" Mai asked.

"The guy called it Chaos Emperor Dragon." Tea replied with worry in her voice, "I don't think that they will be able to stop it, just look at that thing!"

Joey quickly surveyed the field taking note of Yami's 2500 hundred life points, his Dark Paladin, his opponent's life point score of 1300, and his massive dragon.

"They were doing so well." Tristan commented bitterly as he looked up at Chaos Emperor Dragon with rage on his face.

"C'mon guys, if anyone can take dat thing down its Yugi!" Joey stated, "Have a little faith here!"

&&&

Yami was still shaking as he gazed up at his enemies final Dragon.

"So, now you finally understand." Draco noted. "You can feel my Dragon's power and its hard to bear. You can barely even stay on your feet!"

Yami's voice quavered slightly as he answered, "Even with the 1000 attack points that my Paladin lost when you removed your dragons from play, it gains another 500 from your newest monster, and thus still has more than enough attack points to defeat your Chaos Dragon!"

Draco was still smiling even as Dark Paladin's new attack strength of 3900 appeared. "You say that, but you don't really believe it. You can feel in your heart that you are doomed, you just don't know how yet. Well I'll be glad to educate you. My Chaos Dragon's special ability will let me finish your Dark Paladin and take most of your life points! By offering 1000 of my life points as tribute I'll empower my dragon with the strength it needs to completely devastate you!" Draco shuddered for a moment as his life points dropped to 300. "Now Chaos Emperor Dragon, activate Emerald Chaos Blast!"

Yami watched with horror as the Chaos Dragon opened its jaws and began gathering power. A streak of energy leapt from Dark Paladin and joined the growing energy wave in front of the beast. Yami's monster sagged for a moment before dropping to its knees and let its weapon slip from its fingers, with a harsh clang the steel hit the ground and Dark Paladin faded from sight.

"What have you done Draco? What has happened to my monster?" Yami demanded.

"Chaos Emperor Dragon is gathering the universal power that exists in every Duel Monsters card in our hands and on the field, destroying them and adding that force together in order to crush you!" Draco lifted his hand to deposit his cards in his graveyard and Yami reluctantly followed suit. "Now for every card that was sent to the graveyard you lose 300 life points!"

The energy was finally released and the Chaos Dragon itself was incinerated under the pressure. A concentrated beam of energy composed of a rainbow of colors leapt and struck Yami directly in the chest. His eyes bugged for a moment in shock before a great pillar of black and green light erupted around him, completely concealing him from view.

&&&

"No! Yugi!" Tea cried out in alarm as cold fists of fear and dread clenched around her heart, as well as Joey's, Mai's and Tristans'.

"Hang in dere Yugi! I know you can do it!" Joey called out at the top of his voice, not knowing that there was no way that his words of encouragement could ever reach his friend.

&&&

When the attack finally faded Yami stood still for a moment before sinking to his knees, he managed to catch himself on his palms before he fell face first to the ground. He was letting out pained gasps and breathing erratically as he tried to compose himself.

"A total of seven cards were sent to the graveyard so you lost 2100 life points!" Yami's life points quickly dropped to 400 as Draco pumped a fist in triumph.

"This…"Yami shakily put one foot underneath him and rose slowly to his feet, "This duel isn't over. As long as I have life points I'll keep fighting! Your Chaos Dragon may have taken most of my life points, but it destroyed itself as well!"

Draco seemed to be amused, "You have no cards in your hand, nor any on the field. In case you've forgotten I had the foresight to remove my Luster Dragon from play, as soon as I end my turn I'll have a monster with 1900 attack points on the field. You'd better pray that you draw a monster strong enough to protect yourself, or your last life points will be gone, and this duel will be mine!"

"_I knew we should've stopped him from playing his magic card! We would have been able to prevent him from bringing his Luster Dragon back to the field!" _Yugi complained.

"_Yes."_ The pharaoh admitted, _"But if his monster card was still on the field his Chaos Dragon's attack would've taken all but 100 of our life points. We still have a chance to win this duel!"_

&&&

Joey pumped a fist in the air and gleefully shouted, "Yeah! Our boy is back on his feet! I know he wouldn't let dat dragon get the best of him!" The crowd surged to its feet in approval and let out an energetic roar.

&&&

"Its been fun King of Games, but its time for you to take your last turn." Draco's Luster Dragon reappeared on the field, once again brandishing its 1900 attack points.

"_Please, don't fail us now."_ Yugi silently prayed as Yami reached for the duel disk. The card that Yami drew had the picture of a man draped in white robes and reaching out for something at his side. "I summon a monster in defense mode." Yami called out as he placed the card face down on his duel disk. Within moments a hologram of his card appeared before him. "I end my turn."

"Excellent." Draco replied as he drew his card. He frowned down on it for a moment, _"Well this doesn't help unless I have another monster card in my hand."_

Yami noticed the expression on Draco's face, "What's wrong Draco? Didn't get the draw you were hoping for? I understand now. Your Chaos Dragon is very impressive, but if you don't defeat your opponent with it when you activate its special ability you put yourself at a disadvantage for the rest of the duel!"

"Don't mock my Chaos Dragon or its power." Draco growled in response, "And you have exactly the same disadvantage I have, except I secured myself a powerful monster. I have a one-card advantage over you King of Games, and I will exploit it. For now however, I'm confident that my Luster Dragon can handle whatever it is you have in defense mode. Luster Dragon attack his face down monster, Sapphire Breath!"

A cone of blue flame erupted from Draco's dragon, but an energy barrier quickly stopped it. "What?" Draco called out in surprise.

"Your Luster Dragon has attacked my Skilled White Magician!" Yami's monster card flipped over and the image of his Skilled White Magician instantly appeared on the field holding both of its arms out in order to ward off the attack. "Since my monster has a defense score equal to your monster's attack score, this battle ends in a draw!" With an abrupt fizzle the battle had concluded and both monsters were left unharmed on the field, and neither duelists life points were altered.

"_That monster looks and sounds too much like his Skilled White Magician. I'd better be careful not to let it collect three spell counters, or who knows what he'll be able to summon with its special ability."_ Draco mused to himself. "You got a lucky draw with that monster, but your luck won't last! Go ahead and make your move!"

Yami didn't answer Draco as he drew his card. He looked down upon a purple rimmed card with a pedestal holding a blue orb upon its surface. "I'll place one card face down on the field and end my turn." Yami called out his play as his card appeared before him.

Draco drew his card and smiled, "Perfect, now I can activate my Monster Reincarnation magic card!"

Yami let out a noise of frustration as Draco's magic card appeared on the field, "As long as I'm willing to send a monster card from my hand to the graveyard I can bring any monster I wish from my graveyard to my hand! Can you guess which Dragon I've chosen Yugi?" Draco asked with a wide grin on his face.

A stunned look flitted across Yami's features, _"He's brining his Chaos Dragon back to his hand!" _A determined frown quickly came back as he realized, "You may be able to bring your Dragon back to your hand, but you don't have the proper monsters in your graveyard to summon it!"

Draco smiled as he drew his card from his graveyard, "Not yet anyway, but trust me when I say that there are plenty of cards in my deck that can change that in a big hurry. Since it makes no sense for our monsters to battle a second time I'll end my turn.

Yami drew his card and immediately played it to the field, "I summon another monster in defense mode." The card appeared as Yami continued, "I end my turn."

Draco drew his card and couldn't contain his ecstatic laughter. "This is just too good, just the card I was hoping for!"

Yami's expression hardened as he waited for Draco to continue his move.

"I play Miracle Dig!" Suddenly three men with pick axes and shovels appeared on the field behind Draco, they seemed to be digging into the ground searching for something. "Since exactly five of my dragons have been removed from play I can return any three of them to my card graveyard!" A bright light emanated from Draco's graveyard as he continued, "I choose Komouri Dragon, Mirage Dragon, and Cave Dragon!" Images of all three cards appeared above Draco's head as they reappeared in his graveyard.

Yami's jaw clenched tightly as he looked up at the cards, he knew exactly what was coming next. "Now, I'll remove Mirage Dragon and Komouri Dragon from play in order to once again bring forth my Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End!"

That feeling of intense darkness once again permeated throughout Yami's very soul, but this time he was able to endure it with much more success. He looked on with a determined expression on his face as the portal once again appeared on the field. With an equally stunning display of power Draco's ultimate beast once again rested on his side of the field with 3000 attack points.

"I'd say that pretty much seals your fate Yugi. This duel is mine!" Draco crowed happily. "First my Luster Dragon will attack your face down monster!" With a roar the indicated Dragon let loose a stream of blue flame that engulfed Yami's monster card. His Queen's Knight briefly showed itself and wore an expression of great pain before it shattered and went to the graveyard.

Yami let out a noise of frustration as he lowered his arms from his face, no longer protecting himself from the heat and wind from the attack.

"How does it feel King of Games?" Draco asked. "How does it feel to stare your defeat right in the eye and know you have no chance of victory? With all these spectators as witnesses you are about to pass your title onto me, and be ejected from this tournament in the first round!" Draco didn't even bother to give Yami a chance to respond as he lifted his finger to point, "Now my Chaos Emperor Dragon, annihilate his Skilled White Magician, Emperor Fire!" Chaos Emperor Dragon seemed to grin with glee for a moment before opening its maw wide to unleash its rage. A white-hot pillar of fire surrounded by a spiraling blue energy wave issued forth and slammed into Yami's monster.

Even as he covered his face and his clothes were billowing behind him under the ferocity of the attack Yami was still able to call out, "I activate my Miracle Restoring trap card!" His final card lifted itself as Yami continued, "Quickly my Skilled White Magician, offer your power so that your brethren can be called back to the field!"

"What?" Draco called back in shock, "What are you talking about?"

Yami's Skilled White Magician cried out in anguish but still lifted its staff high above its head. Two orbs of light flashed from the tip just before the Skilled White Magician lost its shape and completely disintegrated under the unyielding assault. The two orbs of light quickly spiraled around each other once before flying into Yami's trap card, which began glowing with a beautiful blue aura.

"By offering up two spell counters my Skilled White Magician collected thanks to your magic cards, my Miracle Restoring trap card is empowered with the ability to summon one of two monsters back from my graveyard directly to the field!" Yami answered. "Either my Dark Magician…" He paused for a moment as a satisfied grin spread across his features. "Or my Buster Blader."

Draco's eyes bugged in his head as he took a nervous step back. "No! You can't!"

"Oh, but I can!" Yami responded. "Miracle Restoring! Return my ultimate dragon slaying warrior to the field! I call back Buster Blader in attack mode!" From the face of Yami's trap card a holographic pedestal appeared bearing a blue orb. The orb glowed for a moment before a crack ran along its surface. Finally the orb completely shattered and from the symbol within it a challenging cry echoed throughout the arena. A tall warrior cloaked in purple and gray armor complete with gold trim appeared on the field wielding a massive sword. It swung the blade in a mighty arc as 2600 attack points were displayed.

"I'm sure you're familiar with my warrior's special ability." Yami was wearing a pleased smile on his face as he crossed his arms, "For every dragon monster on your side of the field and in your graveyard he receives 500 attack points, observe!" An azure glow surrounded Buster Blader's sword for a moment as its attack strength climbed to 4100. "This duel ends now!" Yami announced, "Buster Blader, attack his Chaos Emperor Dragon, Dragon Slayer Strike!" Yami's monster assumed a two handed grip on its sword as it lifted it high above its head. It sprinted for three powerful steps before leaping into the air directly at Draco's monster.

"No! My dragon won't be beaten! Chaos Emperor Dragon, counterattack!" Draco cried out in absolute desperation. With an angry roar Draco's monster complied, once again unleashing white-hot fire at its foe. Buster Blader responded by shifting its Blade, holding the edge before it as it continued the attack. The blade was so powerful that when the Chaos Dragon's flames struck it they were completely cut asunder, clearing a path for Buster Blader directly to its foe.

With a great cry Buster Blade swept its blade, a great sonic boom erupted in the stadium as the very air was cut by the ferocity of the attack. Buster Blader returned to its place at Yami's side.

The entire arena was completely quiet, waiting in anticipation for what would happen next. Draco's dragon was completely motionless, staring down at Yami and his monster with pure hatred in its eyes. Finally the ruby glow of its eyes faded as a line appeared down the side of its neck. With a final gurgle as its last words, Chaos Emperor Dragon's head slid of its neck and fell to the field with a great crash, its body followed suit. At last the carcass detonated, completely throwing Draco to his back. He let out an agonized wail as his life points fell to 0.

The tournament officials' voice could barely be heard despite his microphone, the roar of the crowd was so deafening, "Ladies and Gentlemen your winner of this round one duel, the King of Games YUGI MOTO!" It seemed impossible but the roar of the crowd seemed to grow in intensity as Yami looked around and waved wearing a smile on his face.

"_NO! I was so close! How could this happen? I had the most powerful dragon in the game on my side!" _Draco was lamenting to himself as Yami walked over to him.

"It was a great duel, I was honored to face you Draco." Yami offered his fallen opponent his hand to help him to his feet.

Draco's eyes narrowed as he viciously slapped the proffered hand away. Draco scrambled to his feet and looked at Yami with such pure hatred in his eyes that Yami took an unconscious step backwards. "Don't you ever touch me! I'll make you pay for humiliating me and my Chaos Dragon Yugi Moto, you can count on it. You'll be seeing me again." Draco turned and walked off before Yami could respond.

"_How sad. Such a great match shouldn't end like this_." Yami remarked quietly.

"_I can't believe how angry he seemed, he was almost worse than Kaiba when we beat him for the first time!" _Yugi answered.

They were interrupted from any further musing back a hard slap to the back that caught them completely by surprise and pitched them forward slightly before they were able to catch their balance. "Great match Yug! That was amazing!"

Yami smiled as he turned to face Tristan, no doubt the culprit of the enthusiastic greeting. "Thank you Tristan, that was a great challenge. One of the best duels I've fought in a long time."

Tea cut in, "I couldn't believe how powerful those dragons were! I wasn't even dueling but I was shuddering so badly! I almost couldn't believe my eyes when you beat them!"

"Yes." Yami agreed, "They were quite formidable, and I assure you they looked very different from where I was standing." The group shared a laugh and Yami finally noticed that Joey and Mai had joined them as well.

Joey's arm was around her shoulder as he chimed in, "Dat was freakin amazing dueling Yug! We got here just in time ta see him summon dat freaky Chaos Dragon! Its hard ta think dat there's actually a duelist with more powerful dragons den Kaiba!"

"I know, I can't help but wonder if I would've been able to stand up to that thing, it was a monster! You did a great job taking it down." Mai added with a smile.

"_Well it looks like Joey and Mai are finally starting to heal." _Yami noted with a smile on his face.

"_That's so great, they're finally moving on and forgiving the past."_ Yugi added. "Thank you all." Yami looked at each of his friends in turn wearing a smile.

&&&

Draco had his hands in his pockets as he stalked away from the arena. His gaze was narrowed and his brow furrowed as he played the duel over and over again his mind, wondering how he had been beaten with his Chaos Emperor Dragon at his side.

"Hey loser." A deep voice called from behind him.

Draco stiffened angrily as he turned to face his heckler, "You'd better not be talking to me pal." He responded in a dark tone. By the time he finished turning his eyes widened in shock. "Seto Kaiba?" He asked.

"I see you've heard of me." Kaiba replied as his crossed his arms. "I'll be blunt. I want your Chaos Emperor Dragon, how much do you want for it?"

Draco was stunned for a moment, but quickly let out a laugh as he shook his head, "Are you out of your mind? Why would I give up the most powerful dragon in the game?"

"Because." Kaiba began, "You're too weak to use it properly. That dragon deserves to have a real duelist as its master. Its potential and power is wasted on some low class duelist like you."

Draco's fists and jaws were clenched as a deep rage shot through him, "Do you think that I don't see right through you Kaiba? You're jealous of the power that I possess and you want it for yourself. There's no way in hell I'd give up my Chaos Dragon, with it I'm the most powerful Dragon Duelist in the game!"

Kaiba laughed out loud, "So you think you're stronger than me? Let me tell you something, I'm the best duelist alive today, and I will have that Chaos Dragon one way or the other. You can either name your price or get ready to duel for it."

Draco snarled, "You can get ready to kiss my ass!" Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "There isn't a card in your deck that you could put up that would be worth risking my Chaos Dragon! Now this has been a truly pleasant conversation, but I have better things to do than trade insults with a conceited, stuck up, delusional prick like you!" Without another word Draco turned on his heels and walked away even as Kaiba continued to seethe silently behind him.

"_That dragon will be mine you little punk. One way or another."_ Kaiba promised.

As Kaiba turned to walk away he failed to notice the presence of another person that witnessed the confrontation. _"That young man would be absolutely perfect_."

End.

Wow, okay, that duel was a lot of fun to write even when it was tough to put together. Okay some notes. Once again if I haven't stayed 100 true to some of the cards, it was just to let the duel run a little smoother, I can probably point out every instance that the cards were different than they are in real life.

Dark Coffin: Its true that since Draco had no cards in his hand when Dark Coffin was activated so he would've lost a monster, but he would've been able to choose which one it was. I guess its up to you guys to decide what would've been a smarter choice, Cave Dragon or Solar Flare Dragon, but I picked Cave Dragon so that Solar Flare Dragon could use its special ability.

Solar Flare Dragon: This monster is technically a pyro monster and not a dragon in the actual TCG, but for the purposes of this duel I just kinda ignored that. I mean for friggin sake that damn thing has "Dragon" in its name!"

True Loyalty: Completely made up, doesn't exist at all. You guys can decide for yourselves whether or not it was a good card, but I thought it was a nifty little idea that helped me run the duel better. I don't think its too far-fetched after all it only worked on direct attacks and the dragons were removed from play afterwards.

Super Rejuvenation: This magic card doesn't actually include dragons that were destroyed, only those that were tributed or discarded from the hand. So technically Draco would've only been able to draw one card.

Oh, and you guys can call Draco a moron all you want for playing that combo of Dimension Hole and Luster Dragon, after all with Yami's life points those two cards would've given him enough power to win the duel. Lets just say that I thought the combo was a cool idea and I needed some way to prevent Yami/Yugi from being defeated. I hope you didn't think that was a cop out, I actually thought it was pretty cool.

I hope I didn't confuse anyone with the duel stuff, Yami was in control of the body so I basically referred to him in the narration, while Draco called him Yugi because he didn't know about Yami. (well obviously right:sweatdrop: )

I'm definitely happier with my Joey Mai stuff, and I hope you guy's thought it was better too!

I hope you liked the duel, and I hope that you review. Thanks again for reading, next chapter will be Kaiba Vs a Warrior deck, with you guessed it, Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning. Oh and Kaiba will probably be using the Fang of Cridias because he's the kind of guy that wouldn't have any problem playing ridiculously powerful monsters that no average duelist would have any chance of beating…..so yeah! Stay tuned and did I mention review?

madmanmay


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